The Consequences of Change
by bookworm563
Summary: Ok, first of, this is like my first fic, but I will try to make it amazing! You will do anything for your brothers. They love, care for you, right? Wrong! When Mikey is told something that no brother should ever have to hear, he decided to change for the greater good. And he means, he will do anything! What he doesn't realize, is that the consequences may not be worth it...
1. Chapter 1: The mission

**Ok, lets get something straight, pay no attention to the story 'Anything to make you safe and happy.' That was before I knew how to work anything in Fanfiction. I want to thank Athese and Pimino for being like my Fanfiction 101. I'm not even sure if this is going to work, so yeah I'm holding my breath. This is going to be really embarrassing if it doesn't work, but if it does "Yay! " Oh, and one more thing. If this works this will actually be my first fic, so go easy on me. So yeah, I'm going to get to the actual story and rewrite it for the sixth time! Hope you like it! ****J**

**And apparently I'm suppose to say this: I do not own TMNT, ( No kidding! If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing this and there would be more brotherly fluff!)**

**Leo's Pov**

'This way.' Leo beckoned with his hand as he and his brothers jumped from rooftop to rooftop. They were trying to find the perfect spot to spy on the Kraang, and find some information that might stop the Kraang invasion that was going to come. Hopefully, they would be able to stop it before the world got into panic and everything got messed up.

After a few more leaps, they finally found the perfect rooftop with an excellent look of the Kraang. "Stop." Leo commanded, and they went as close to the edge of the rooftop as they could. They had no need to hide in the shadows, it was pitch black in New York at this time, and no one was out.

"The device that is to take over the world is almost done." One Kraang said. "Yes, ha, ha, mortals well die." Another Kraang replied. "Ha, ha, ha, ha." All the other Kraang said in unison.

Leo slapped his head. They were getting no where with this. _Stupid Kraang with their horrible_ _sense of humor._ Leo thought to himself.

All of a sudden, Leo started to feel a sense of unase. Beside the Kraang laughing robotically, it was unusually quiet. _To quiet. _Leo thought.

"Um, guys, have you seen Mikey?" Leo asked, finally understanding why it was so quiet.

"Um, no Leo, actually I haven't." Donnie answered.

"Where could that little brat gone?" Raph growled, but even under his tough impression you could tell he was starting to get worried.

Leo was staring to get on edge too, but as leader he had to act like everything was going to be fine and that Mikey was just hiding somewhere.

"I'm sure he's find guys, he might just be playing a trick on us and is hiding in the shadows." Leo responded.

"Really, Leo? On top off the rooftop? Where the heck is he suppose to hide!" Raph exclaimed. Leave it to Raph to point out the obvious.

All of a sudden, there was the sound of clanging metal coming from where the Kraang were once laughing in unison. Leo hadn't realized it stopped until now.

All of his brothers, including him, turned their attention back to the Kraang, and saw the one and only, Michelangelo, fighting the Kraang.

_Why! Why! Why! _Leo frantically thought. This is not how the plan was…you know…planned! They were suppose to spy on the Kraang, _then_ fight them. Not that he, Raph, or Donnie was actually listening at the moment, but as far as Leo knew the Kraang were just laughing until Mikey got into the battle. _Ugh! Why does he always mess these things up!_ Leo thought.

After watching Mikey fight the Kraang, he could tell he energy was starting to wear out, if that was even possible.

"Come on guys, there is nothing we can do now, lets just go help Mikey." Leo said in a calm voice.

"Yeah, and once we help him we could strangle him." Raph murmured.

So they jumped into battle, weapons out, ready to fight with along with their little brother, the cause of why this mission was failed.

**Donnie's Pov**

When Donne first saw Mikey fighting the Kraang it was a mix of emotions.

Confusion for why he didn't listen, when he knew how important this mission was. Anger for him messing up the plan, as usual. Disappointment because Donnie believed he would actually listen this time, but it turned out he got his hopes up for nothing. Donnie realized, none of these emotions were good. But, that was how Mikey make him feel most of the times. It was nothing he wasn't use to.

But, despite all of these emotions, the love and care for his brother seemed to fight back for thinking this. Telling his mind that maybe something had happened to Mikey, causing him to go to accidently battle_. But how does someone, or in their cases, some turtle, accidently jump into a battle and start fighting? _Donnie thought, logic winning over the feeling for standing up for his little brother.

Though once he jumped into the fight, he was focused on fighting the Kraang.

He brought out his Bo, rapidly spinning it around, and knocking down Kraang ten at a time. But just when he thought he cleared the area, thirty more Kraang came rushing in.

_Where are all these Kranng coming from? _Donnie wondered with confusion, curiosity, and worry jumbled together in his thoughts.

He punched the Kraang in the face with a powerful fist. They went down like flies. Even though that seemed like Raph's thing, it was his last resort. And it seemed to be working.

He continued punching until all the Kraang were down, and luckily no more came. He looked around and saw his brothers seemed to handle it, but to make himself useful, he went to help Leo, but first grabbed his Bo, of course. Using his fist weren't really his style.

**Raph's Pov**

The anger he felt towards Mikey was like one he never felt before! Mikey had messed up so many times today, more than usual. And that was saying a lot.

_First when we woke up, we made breakfast and he broke the toaster. Then, he pulled a prank on me, and made my blood red mask was cotton-candy pink. I looked likea ballerina, all I needed was a tutu! It took me three hours to wash it off! Next, when I went to go watch television, Mikey broke the remote! And if that wasn't enough, when we were training, he messed up so much, that Mater Splinter made __**all**__ of us do an extra hour of katanas! (I think I spelled that right…Tell me if I didn't!) And to top it off, he decoded to ruin this mission!_

Of course, Raph liked a fight as much as the next mutant turtle, but he forgot about what he liked and wanted to do, and stuck to the plan! And yet, Mikey couldn't do that but he could!

No matter how much Raph wanted to let his rage out on Mikey, he knew it would be better if he just took his anger on the Kraang.

He snatched a brain out of the Kraang's robotic body, through it on the ground, and stomped on it with so much force he thought it was dead.

As Raph started to walk away, the Kraang brain suddenly jumped up and attached itself to Raph's head.

_What the? _Was the only thing Raph was able to think before the _disgusting _brain decided to to hitch itself on his head. The only thing he could smell was Kraang guts, and it was by far the worst thing he had ever smelled, even smellier than the sewers.

"Ah!" His muffled voice came from under the blush pink, squishy brain.

He could feel the precious oxygen seeping away, and his throat felt like closing, as if it was saying _"If I have to breathe in Kraang air instead of fresh air, then I rather not breathe at all!" _Raph felt like talking back to his mind and saying "_You breathe in sewer air!" _Man, this lack of oxygen was making him go crazy.

After struggling for a few moments, Raph yanked the brain off his head, thankful for some fresh air, and threw the thing it the ground, and stabbed with with his Sai, knowing he learned his lesson of making sure it was dead before you walked away.

As he looked up, he saw all the Kraang had been destroyed while he was trying to get that brain off his head. Now that he looked back on it, he really hoped nobody had saw that happen. He would never be able to live that down.

He walked up to his brothers and said "Hey guys. He should head home" They all nodded, and started to go back the way they came. Looking at their faces, he could tell no one had noticed that embarrassing moment of the fight. Of course they hadn't, they had been busy with their own battle. And all that was on their minds right now, were how they failed their mission, all thanks to one particular little brother. (Cough, Mikey)

Mikey sure had some explaining to do when they got home.

**Mikey's Pov**

Gosh, he felt like dying with the dirty stares his brothers were giving. He wasn't clueless. He knew he had messed up the plan, along with many other things today. But messing up the plan was different, he would never do that on purpose. There was a perfectly good explanation.

_(Just in case you don't know, what's coming up is a flashback)_

_He was jumping from rooftop to rooftop with his brothers, when suddenly he tripped. He fell from the rooftop, and landed on the floor. Luckily, the roof wasn't so high, so except for a few scrapes he was fine. When he got back up, he was surrounded by a bunch of Kraang, with their laser guns pointing at him. He had no choice but to fight._

_(End flashback)_

It was either his life or information. He didn't know about his brothers, but his life was way more way more important. Although with the way he has been messing up lately, they probably would have picked the information over his life. It wasn't liked they cared much anyways.

Mikey scolded himself.

_Don't think like that Mikey. Your brothers love you very much, even if they call you stupid, an idiot, dumb, worthless… And all the other stuff they have said._

Mikey sighed. He would explain what would happen to his brothers in the lair, they would understand.

Wouldn't they?

**So yeah! That was my first chapter of my first ever fic! It wasn't that good, but you know what, I'm proud of it. I'm writing this on a school night, after taking test that may depend what I get on the biggest test of the year. So yeah. Please review! It would make my day and make me update sooner! (Like most of you even care.) Flames are welcome, just don't make them so harsh, but don't sugar-coat it either! I would like to know the truth. See ya!**


	2. Chapter 2: Realization

**Wow, I'm just, speechless. I thought that no one would even read this! The amount of reviews/followers/favorites I got just made me feel rich! It may not seem like a lot of reviews to most people, but I was lacking confidence in my story and you guys gave me that confidence I didn't know I had! So thank you to everyone! **

**Mikey's Pov**

Mikey was _so_ dreading this lecture Leo was going to give him, for like the fifth time today. But he kept telling himself, _When they realized I had to fight for my life, they will forgive me. We are brothers, right? We care for each other no matter what, and it's always family first. _

At least that's what Mikey thought. So he figured that's the way his brother would feel too. So why was it so hard to convince himself?

As the brothers sat on the sofa, Raph was the first one to speak, or should he say, shout. "What were you thinking Mikey? We were all fine until you jumped into the fight! You made us fail our mission!"

_Are you serious? Just drop the insults on me right when we get home. Don't even give me five seconds to prepare myself for this lecture. Real nice. _Mikey thought with annoyance.

"You really got to be paying attention Mikey. You have been messing up a lot." Leo said in a stern voice.

_Ok, can you at least let me explain! _He thought frantically.

"Yeah, Mikey, there are some problems I can't fix. Like this one. I've fixed so many mistakes of yours, but I can't fix this one. What if this happens again one day, but you end up getting us killed? I know you don't want to hear it Mikey, buts it's true."

Those words struck Mikey hard. Was he really that bad? It hurt the most, especially since it was coming from his closest brother. The brother that would usually stand up for him.

"Just let me explain!" Mikey interrupted, knowing they weren't going to just give him an invitation to justify what has happened.

"We were jumping to rooftop to rooftop, when I miscalculated a jump. I fell, but I'm not hurt, thank you for asking." Mikey sneered. "Once I landed, the Kraang were surrounding me with laser guns in their hands. I had to fight!" Man was he glad to get that out of his system. Maybe now he would get an apology.

"So not only have you managed to fail our mission, but you couldn't even tell how far to jump!" Leo shouted, exasperated.

Boy, that was _not_ what he was expecting. Especially from his oldest brother. What was going on today? Were they just in an extremely bad mood, or were they just speaking the truth?

"Mikey, thank gosh your not hurt!" Donnie said.

_Awww, thanks D! Nice to know you care!_ Mikey thought. At least one of his brothers didn't hate him!

"Cause I'm running out of medical supplies, and you have been the one paying the most visits."

_Wait, what? No, "You're my little brother and I wouldn't want to see you get hurt." And how the hell did they get to this? Now were talking about missions in the past too! Not fair! You can't just change the subject like that!_

"Dudes, that was in the past. Can you just lecture me on today?" Mikey asked. This was getting really annoying.

"Mikey, I know you don't like, but you not only have to think about this time, but all of all the times." Donnie tried to explain. "You need to realize what harm you have been doing.

Mikey was starting to think it may be easier if they just pored acid into his eyes. This felt like a stab to the heart.

"Ok, dudes, I'm really sorry. I'll try harder not to mess up anymore." Mikey said. Maybe an apology could get him out of this.

"You know what Mikey! You say you're going to try harder every time, but you never do! It's time you start acting like a ninja, not trying but actually doing!" Raph exclaimed.

"Wait, what do you mean start acting like a ninja?" Mikey asked in a small voice, sounding hurt.

Oblivious to the hurt Raph was causing to Mikey's heart, he continued. "It means that you have been failing us so many times! It's like you can never do anything right! If it was up to me, you wouldn't come with us to missions anymore!"

Tears pricked in the corner or Mikey's eyes. _Is this what they all that? Do they think I am a burden on missions, or that I'm not useful? Sure Raph, didn't say those words exactly. But he was able to see through what Raph said, and saw what he really wanted to say. _But Mikey was determined not to cry. Not to show weakness in front of his brothers.

"Oh come on, Raph. You know you didn't mean that. Were brothers and were suppose to fight together." Mikey said with his puppy eyes.

"Well maybe sometimes I wish you weren't my brother! So I wouldn't have to put up with you! To get some peace and quiet for just one friggin day! To get some help in a battle other than you just shouting insults! Is that too much to ask? For a brother like that once and a while!" Raph furiously exclaimed.

That was too much for Mikey to bear. The tears were threatening to fall out in moment. So he got up, and wordlessly walked to his room. Once he locked the door and climbed unto bed, was the only time he let the tears flow silently down his cheeks.

**Leo's Pov**

Wow, that was something. All Leo could do was listen as Raph talked so fiercely to Mikey. Sure Raph had said some rude stuff before, but his was something new. Something they had never said towards one another, until now. And the sad part was, Leo almost agreed with him.

Not of wanting another brother of course, but for some silence in the lair. And for Mikey to concentrate more. Just_ one_ day of Mikey making himself useful, instead of goofing off.

And those thoughts made Leo feel guiltier than ever. Not only was he a leader, he was a big brother. And big brothers shouldn't think of his youngest brother, or any brother in that matter, in such a way. It was as if his emotions were caught between a battle, and he wasn't sure which one was going to win.

**Donnie's Pov**

Those words that came from Raph's mouth was enough to leave him speechless as he walked into his lab.

Ah, his lab. His thinking place. For good or for bad.

_How could Raph say that? I mean face it, we all thought that once in a while, but he knows how sensitive Mikey could be. The way Raph said it, it sounded as if Raph wanted to get rid of Mikey completely. At least in Mikey's ears it would._

Don desperately wanted to go talk to Mikey, but he felt as if now wasn't the right time. Mikey needed to reflect on the things that had happened today. Maybe it would be the day, the day Mikey comes to realization and starts to shape up his act.

Maybe Raph's cruel words were just enough to knock some sense into him…

**Raph's Pov**

Raph didn't know where those words came from. He didn't want another brother, he just wanted Mikey to shape up. Hopefully, Mikey didn't take it the wrong way.

And besides the part about wanting a different brother, _he would have to find a way to apologize about that later,_ what he said was one hundred percent true.

If lectures weren't going to make Mikey start paying attention, then maybe the truth would.

Something in the back of his brain was nagging him though. Was it, his conscience? It was as if a tiny voice was speaking to him from the back of his brain. Saying, _Go apologize to him now. You have said something terrible._

Raph did the best to push the voice out of his mind. He was sure he did the right thing this time. If what he said didn't work, Mikey would be back to his happy go-lucky self tomorrow anyways. What would have possibly gone wrong from what he said?

**Mikey's Pov**

_It was pitch black. Silence surrounded him, the way dark ominous clouds surrounded the sky on a stormy day. Mist was all that he could see. Then, one by one he saw his brothers. Lying on the floor, a puddle of blood surrounding them._

_Mikey rushed to Leo's side. "Leo, dude wake up!" Mikey screamed. Leo didn't budge. Mikey was starting to freak out. What was happening?_

_He tried Donnie next. "Donnie come on wake up! Leo and Raph are in trouble, come on, I'm not a doctor! I need you to wake up and fix them!" Donnie's chest didn't move, proving that he wasn't breathing._

_Finally, he tried Raph. "Raph, wake up!" He slapped Raph's face. "I stole your comic books! And painted your room pink!" Mikey exclaimed, trying to say anything that might make Raph wake up. It didn't work._

_By this point tears were streaming down Mikey's face. "What happened!" He screamed. What did they do to deserve this! Who killed them!_

_Suddenly, a figure emerged out of the fog. All silver except for his piercing eyes. Spikes on his shoulders of his armor. The Shredder._

_"Why, why Michelangelo. It seems as if you have found your brothers." Oruko Saki sneered. _

_"Who did this Shredder! If you did this you will have no mercy." Mikey shouted._

_"Michelangelo, don't you see? You have no one to blame, but yourself." Shredder taunted, and then disappeared._

Mikey woke up in a cold sweat. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. _It was just a nightmare._ Mikey told himself.

But what of this nightmare had some sort of meaning? What if this were to really happen one day, and it was his fault. Thinking this just made him even more terrified. Mikey considered going to his brothers, but quickly turned the thought away. They didn't want to see him. They didn't even want him as a brother.

How could Mikey not have seen it earlier. Every insult was a way of telling him he wasn't wanted. Every time he was kicked out of the lab or his brother's room, was because they hated him. Despised him. They didn't love him. They never had. And he continued to ignore the signs that were given to him.

He had to change, for the sake of his brothers. Maybe then will they love him, accept him. Maybe they wouldn't want another brother. Maybe this time, he could actually succeed in making them feel happy.

Because that was what he was suppose to do. The only thing he was good at. Or at least, _thought_ he was good at. Starting tomorrow, there would be a new Mikey. A Mikey his brothers would like. And maybe if Mikey kept on telling himself they would love him now, he could eventually convince himself.

That didn't make him hurt any less though. In fact, it only made him feel worst.

Every prank that he played, every joke he told, was all for nothing. His attempts to make his brothers smile was a waste.

No matter what he did now, Mikey's heart, will always remain shattered.

**So what do you think? Was it a good chapter? Please tell me. I did this at midnight, but I just feel more better writing at night. So please tell me. It sounded a bit ooc to me, but does it to you guys? I had a bit trouble in characters I did not really like, but I tried my best. And I know no one asked, but my inspiration to this story was a song I heard on youtube called " If you knew" By Joel Faviere. Tell me if it reminds you of Mikey if you get to hear it.**

**See you all next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3: Starting

**WOW! It's just…I'm just…wow! Never thought people would like chapter 2 so much! Thank you to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorite! You guys are the light when I am feeling down! And I'm on winter break now, so I'll try to update a little sooner than I do now. Enjoy!**

**And for those who did not see it on chapter 1: I do not own TMNT, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming!**

**Raph's Pov**

'Crash!' _Ugh, what the hell is that? _Raphael thought groggily as he sat up from his bed. He looked over at the time, 6:15a.m. _Gosh, just go back to sleep Raph, it was nothing. _He told himself. 'Bang!' _Are you kidding me! Raph thought with extreme annoyance. _

With this noise, he knew we wasn't get some shut eye anytime soon. So he decided to figure out the source of this noise so he could make it shut up. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. _It's Leo training again! Of course, it's fearless leader! Ugh, why Leo! Why can't you just sleep in for once instead of training early! I better get Donnie, it's going to take at least two turtles to make him go back to bed._

Rubbing the sleep out if his eyes, he warily got up and tip-toed to Donnie's room. Not even bothering to knock, he went into his room.

Walking toward his bed, Raph said in a not so quiet matter, "Hey, Donnie wake up."

Being a light sleeper, Donnie woke up, facing the clock. Just happening to see the clock, he saw it read _6:17._

"Raph, its 6:17, what do you want? I just went to bed a few minutes ago from working on an experiment."

"Well sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep you highness, but I want to get Leo to shut up and go back to bed from training, and him being Leo, he isn't going to listen to me only." Raph said sarcastically.

"That's impossible Raph. When I was going to bed I passed by Leo's door, which was cracked open. I saw it with my own eyes, he was fast asleep."

_What? If it's not Leo, then who the heck could it be. Not Donnie, Leo or me. And defiantly not Mikey. Wait, what if it's an intruder? Ugh. I'm not one to complain about beating butts, but at six in the morning! Give me a break!_

What if it's an intruder? Raph asked to Donnie, announcing his thoughts.

"Maybe, we should go check." Donnie said trying to act calm, but you could sense the urgency in his voice.

"Alright, let's go wake up fearless leader, then we could go." Raph said, and rushed to Leo's room, with Donnie right behind him.

**Leo's Pov**

He was having an amazing dream. He was Captain Ryan, protecting the galaxy from the world's greatest evil.

"Halt villain! He shouted to Dr. Mindstrong. "You are no match for Captain Ryan, defeater of all evil!"

opened his mouth to say something all evil like, but instead he said "Leo wake up!" It sort of sounded like…Raph? _What the?_ Was all Leo was able to think before he got sucked out of his precious dream.

"What do you want?" Leo groaned. "The one day I don't wake up to go training, and you wake me up.

"Sorry Leo. But we think there is an intruder in the lair." Donnie said quickly, before Raph was able to say some nasty things towards Leo.

Just hearing that there might be an intruder in the lair was enough to get Leo up and moving.

"Come on then!" He said, jumping out of bed.

"Wait guys. Shouldn't we wake up Mikey?" Donnie asked.

"Nah, I don't think he is in the mood to see us anymore than we are in the mood to see him." Leo answered. "And lets leave it at that." Leo said quickly, interrupting from Raph adding some unwanted words to what he said.

Grabbing his katana from his shelf, Leo and his two other brothers quickly yet quietly sneaked up to the dojo, where the noise was the loudest.

'Stop.' Leo motioned as he reached the dojo's door. Carefully opening the door, not wanting to alert the enemy, he peeked inside. But what he saw wasn't the Kraang, foot ninjas, or any enemy for that matter.

Who they saw was, Mikey.

**Mikey's Pov**

Getting up today was _so _hard. It was like trying to meditate on a village with a volcano erupting, while juggling blow torches with one hand and baking homemade brownies with the other. Yeah, it was _that_ hard. Ok, so maybe he was exaggerating, but that didn't change the fact that it was difficult.

He woke up at 5:00am! That was even crazier than Master Splinter crazy! He didn't even get much sleep to begin with, it was nightmare after nightmare. The only thing making Mikey actually give up his personality and favorite hobbies was his brothers. _It would all be worth it once they love you._ Mikey thought while waking up.

So now, he was in the middle of perfecting his katas. Mikey was in the zone, pretending to hit invisible bad guys. He had been doing this for oven an hour, and was getting pretty exhausted.

But, he kept on going on, thinking about his brothers. They were the ones making him go on and not pass out from complete exhaustion.

It was only after a few moments that he noticed that the door to the dojo was open, and his brothers were staring at him, they mouths so wide that a train could mistake it as a tunnel.

_Excuse, excuse. I need an excuse._ Mikey thought frantically. _Start with small talk Mikey. We'll see where it goes from there._

"Um, hey guys. Why are you up so early?" Mikey asked nervously. Bad move.

"The true question is, Mikey. Why are _you_ up so early?" Leo asked skeptically.

_Are you kidding me Leo! I expected the question to come up, but not so soon. It's pretty hard to come up with a believable excuse in a few seconds!_ _Especially after you woke up at five in the morning and have been training ever since!_ Mikey thought with annoyance.

"Couldn't sleep." Mikey answered bluntly.

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain why your training instead of reading your comics or playing video games." Raph sneered.

"Yeah, something is wrong." Donnie agreed.

"Gosh guys! You're always complaining of me not training! The one time I do train, you guys are confused and are bombarding me with questions! Make up your mind!" Mikey shouted.

_Oops, that came out a little harsher than I expect it to. _

"Um, ok Mikey. We're just going to go to the kitchen now, to, you know, eat breakfast. Leo said nervously.

"We are?" Donnie asked. Leo glared daggers at him. "I mean, we are!" Donnie said nervously. "Come on Raph."

"Whatever." Raph answered. And his three brothers headed toward the kitchen.

Mikey thought they sounded suspicious, but he couldn't worry about that now. He had training to do.

**Donnie's Pov**

Once they were in the kitchen and closed the door, Leo said "You guys, what's up with Mikey?"

"What do you mean?" Raph asked.

"Are you really that stupid Raph? He was training for who knows how long! How can you not tell that something was wrong."

"I think we just finally knocked some sense into him." Raph stated. "You have to stop worrying about these little things Leo."

"Yeah, but what if we caused Mikey to act like this? Donnie asked.

"You got to be kidding me Donnie! Are you with Leo on this too! Its Mikey guys. Our irresponsible brother who plays pinball, reads comics, plays video games, and has a strange addiction to pizza. Do you really think he could keep it up! He's just needy for attention!" Raph exclaimed, finally losing it.

_Raph is right. Of course Raph is! I'm just overreacting._ It was funny that just after that little outburst, how Raph was able to change his mind. It was as if a miracle came from up above, because suddenly Leo spoke.

"Yeah, your right. We're overreacting. And if it does go on for a couple of days, that would be a good thing. Leo said slowly, as if it finally hit him.

"Exactly!" Raph shouted, a triumphant grin splattered on his face. "So there is nothing to worry about." Raph said.

"This is amazing guys! If we don't bother Mikey about this, he might continue what he is doing! Then we could win so many more battles, we might even beat Shredder!" Leo said.

"Ok guys, but don't forget, Mikey may be doing this just for attention." Donnie pointed out.

"We'll see Donnie. Just have a little hope." Raph said.

_Why not? A little hoping never hurt anyone. _Donnie thought.

Ok Raph, but remember, we don't bother him about this, or he might just quit what he is doing. We can't upset him about this." Donnie said.

"You guys, I think we just got a miracle!" Leo exclaimed.

"Ok guys, as long as Mikey is around, we forget we ever had this talk." Raph warned.

"Agreed!" Donnie and Leo said in complete unison.

Little they know, that Mikey has heard every word.

**Ok, I know that this chapter was pretty short, and it's not one of my best, but I had to much in my brain to squeeze into one itty-bitty chapter. I'll try to update this ASAP. Thank the lord its winter break! Oh, and for anyone who celebrates Christmas, merry early Christmas to you all!**

**See ya!**


	4. Chapter 4: Someone new to please

**Wow, can't believe I updated this soon! And again, a million thank you to old and new readers! Enjoy! And a special thank you to InsaneDutchGirl, who continuously gives me advice to make my writing get better each time! **

**Mikey's Pov**

Hs brother's words rang in his ears like a bell. He wasn't sure what to fell about their words. They _sounded_ like they liked him more, at least if he continued this act of himself. So that meant his plan might just work. But he also felt disappointed, as if he _wanted_ his plan to fail. He needed the reassurance that his brothers loved him the way he was. Apparently, that wasn't the case. He thought that his heart couldn't break anymore, but after hearing the conversation, he knew it was confirmed that his brothers didn't love him anymore. And his heart his shattered into pieces that were so small, they were impossible to see.

But then again, who cared about how he was feeling? Before it was three brothers upset and one brother happy. Now it was three brothers happy and one brother upset. He was just the unlucky brother who was upset. But, as long as his brothers were happy, even if it was by him changing, then so be it. He would have to just keep this up.

So once he herd his brothers footsteps, indicating that they were coming out of the kitchen, he shook himself out of his self-pity and starting practicing with his Nunchaku. Just in the nick of time too, because not even two seconds later, his brothers came in, with grins plastered on their face. No doubt from what they just talked about.

Acting as if they never said anything, Donnie spoke up. "Hey Mikey. You want to watch T.V or having a pinball competition? For who gets the higher score?"

_Really D? Did you guys decide to ask me this to put me to the test? Well I'll show you, I can go a few days without a little goofing off._

Just then was when he realized his brothers were staring at him, waiting for an answer.

"Um, no thanks. I was just about to make breakfast for you guys." Mikey said, with a fake smile on his face. "And then we have _actual_ training with Sensei." He added under his breathe.

"What was that last part? Didn't hear ya." Raph asked.

"Nothing!" Mikey said a little too quickly. "Just that I'm starving." He added, hoping to cover it up.

"Of course you are." Raph taunted, and then headed off to the sofa to watch T. headed off to cook breakfast.

**Raph's Pov**

Once Mikey had gone to cook breakfast, he grinned at his brothers. "Wow, he passed up T.V. guys! How long do you think he could keep it up?"

"I don't think he could last longer than today." Donnie voted.

"I don't know Don, he seemed very determined. Maybe three days at the most." Leo chuckled.

"Ok guys, remember the last thing we spoke about. He have to put Mikey to the test, if our plan is ever going to work." Raphael reminded them.

"Yeah ok guys, but let's not overdue it. We just want a little more help around here and some concentration. Not to torture him." Leo cautioned.

"Yeah, yeah Leo. Let's just enjoy it while it last." Raph said.

Suddenly, Mikey barged into the room. "Guys, breakfast is ready. We just had pizza in the fridge, so I heated it up." Mikey added.

"Yeah, alright Mikey. We'll be there." Donnie said. Satisfied, Mikey left the room and made his way back into the kitchen.

Sharing a wink with his brothers, Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo followed him.

**Donnie's Pov**

Maybe if Donnie paid close attention, he would have realized that Mikey had not touched his food. Or maybe that there was hurt and betrayal lurking in his brother's usually bright and happy eyes. He might have even realized how selfish he was, taking advantage of Mikey that way. But all that he could think about how amazing life was going to be if Mikey continued what he was doing. No more Mikey barging into his lab, not more experiments being ruined or broken, beating more battles, even against the Shredder!

After eating up the heated up, cheesy pizza, they all headed into the dojo of their daily morning practice with Master Splinter.

They all sat crossed legged on the velvet carpeted floor, awaiting Master Splinter's arrival.

While waiting, Donnie shared a nod with Leo and Raph, and nudged Mikey. "Hey Mikey, after practice were going to go out and get pizza. On the way we can stop at that comic stop and get that new comic edition you have been waiting for." Donnie said.

The battle of choosing what to do was written all over Mikey's face.

_Wow, if Mikey chooses to stay home, then he might actually surprise me. And if he does chooses to stay home, that will even ensure our plan is going on the right track._

Finally, Mikey answered, "I think I'm going to stay home today. I have… things to do."

Donnie, Raph, and Leo shared a surprised glance. They never actually thought that Mikey would stay home. It felt too good to be true. Yet, he just said that he would pass up the choice to get a comic he had been whining about for a week now! He was actually trying to change!

You would think that Donnie would care, or at least wonder, why Mikey was changing. But his selfish actions were clogging his thoughts with day dreams of amazing futures ahead of them.

All of a sudden, Sensei walked into the dojo. He examined his sons with beady eyes, like he did every time. He seemed to stare at Michelangelo with an odd expression. "Good morning my sons." Splinter finally said after a few seconds.

"Good morning Sensei." Mikey, Raph, Leo, and Donnie said in unison.

"We will begin this morning's training with sparring. Raphael versus Michelangelo. Donatello versus Leonardo." Master Splinter decided. "We will begin Michelangelo and Raphael."

_Mikey is going to be in so much trouble._ Donnie thought before Raph and Mikey faced each other for the Miek

**Mikey's Pov**

_Why Sensei? Why did we have to do sparring? And why did you have to put me against me Raph! I alright have a lot on my mind._

As Mikey faced Raph, he could feel sweat beading down his forehead.

_Maybe if I win this match, I might show the other guys what I'm made of. _Mikey thought.

But Mikey couldn't focus for the life of him. He had barely gotten and sleep at all, he didn't eat breakfast, and already have been training all morning while his brothers were asleep. He was just _so_ tired.

"Come on Mikey! Fight like you mean it!" Raph shouted.

"Bring it on Raphie boy." Mikey shot back, but his heart really wasn't into it.

Mikey swung his nunchaku around, aiming for Raph's arm to pull him down. But just as he was about to strike, he felt his eyes drooping.

_No Mikey! Stay awake!_ Mikey frantically thought.

But he was so tired. So, so tired.

All of a sudden Mikey felt a jabbing pain in his side. Raph had punched it, and with all the times Raph's fist hit the wall, his fist was pretty hard. Mikey could already feel the bruise starting to form.

Mikey fell to the floor, holding his side, trying to hold back tears.

_Stop being a baby Mikey. You have gone through way worse. It was just a little punch from your brother, your hero, who knocked the wind out of you, made a bruise on your side, and probably hit you that hard on purpose to test you. No biggie._

"Come on get up Mikey, you big baby." Sneered Raph. Thinking Mikey wasn't looking, he shared a disappointed look with his brothers.

_Darn Mikey! Come on, do you want your brothers to be proud of you or not?_ Mikey scolded himself.

"My sons, training is over. You are dismissed. Except for you Michelangelo, I would like to have a word." Mater Splinter said.

"But Sensei, not that I don't appreciate this opportunity, but don't me Leo and I have to spar?" Donnie asked.

"Maybe later Donatello." Splinter answered patiently. "Unless you would like to do it now?" Splinter added.

"No, no. We're fine." Leo said quickly.

Showing a ghost of a smile, Splinter motioned Mikey to follow him.

"Well someone's gonna get in trouble." Raph smirked as Mikey brushed past him.

Mikey stepped into Splinter's room. Candles illuminated the room in a soft glow.

"Master Splinter, you said you wanted to see me?" Mikey said, but it ended up sounding more like a question.

"Yes Michelangelo. Come sit. Would you lie some tea?" Master Splinter asked.

"Um, no thanks Sensei." Mikey said as he put himself in a sitting position in front of Splinter.

Splinter and Mikey sat together in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Mikey couldn't stand the silence. It was as if it was suffocating him. "So, what would you like to talk about?" Mikey finally asked.

"Hm?" Splinter questioned while taking a sip of his tea. "Oh, yes. Are you o.k. Michelangelo? You seemed off today. I could sense your uneasiness and sorrow."

_How does he do it?_ Mikey wondered. For a moment Mikey thought of telling Master Splinter everything that had happened in the last few hours. About what he heard his brothers say, about his nightmare, of him deciding to change for the greater good. But he quickly decided against it. Sensei wouldn't understand, nobody would. It was better if he kept it to himself.

Now that Mikey thought about it, he seemed to disappoint Splinter a lot too. In training, for instance. He would always lose when he sparred against his brothers. And Splinter wouldn't say anything, but you could see the disappointment in his eyes. Mikey decided that he wouldn't have to do this just for his brothers, but for his dad too.

_Before you know it, I'll find something April and Casey are disappointed in too._ But Mikey quickly erased that thought. He didn't need more people to work for. He has enough in his plate.

So instead of spilling his guts out to Splinter, Mikey just shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong Sensei. I'm just tired, that's all."

Splinter stared at Mikey in an odd way, as if he was looking past Mikey's fake smile and act, and was trying to figure out what Mikey was really feeling. _Gosh, this is getting freaky, and a little weird._ Mikey thought.

Finally, Splinter sighed. "My son, you know you can tell me everything, right?" Master Splinter asked his son in a gentle way.

"Yeah, I know Master Splinter. I really am fine though." Mikey said, and put on a huge grin. Luckily, he succeeded because Splinter's features seemed to relax a little.

"Alright my son, you may be dismissed. But remember, next time you do that poorly in training, there will be consequences. Master Splinter warned.

"Hai Sensei." Mikey said, and quietly left the room. He considered going back to bed, but he doing bad was a sign showing that he needed to work harder. No matter how bad he wanted to catch up on his sleep. _Come on Mikey. Two hours of sleep is more than enough for a ninja teenager_. Mikey thought and brushed by his brothers and headed to the dojo.

"Hey knucklehead! You get in trouble?" Raph shouted, but Mikey just ignored him and kept on walking.

He has work to do.

**So yeah! This is a miracle that I updated today. I was suppose to update yesterday, but I went to sleep at three a.m. so yeah. I don't know why, but I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Well, more fun than usual I guess. Maybe it was because I was talking to my BBf, who moved schools last year. Whatever the case, I hoped you enjoyed!**

**Until next time, my lovely readers!**


	5. Chapter 5: Starting to understand

**I know I say this every chapter, but it's so true! I LOVE all my readers, you guys are my inspiration! And thanks a million for following through with this story and not getting bored of it. I am sorry to say this will be my last chapter this week, because I'm going to a surprise family vacation to Tennessee! And where I stay, there's no internet or wi-fi, so yeah. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: For the last time! I do NOT own TMNT. And I never will no matter how much my little heart wants to. ****L**

**Mikey's Pov**

_Three days. Six hours of sleep. Two small meals per day. That's all I have time for. But, it's worth it, anything for my brothers. Even if they wouldn't do the same for me. At least I'm getting better at my katas and nunchuck skills. I've learned to pretend to go to bed, and then when everyone else is asleep, I get up and train. Then I go back to bed right before Master Splinter wakes up. I have to be careful, I could tell he's getting suspicious._

_I wonder if they've noticed how tired I've been. Or how much weight I lost. They probably haven't, they're too busy thinking how awesome this is that I'm actually changing. They don't think I her them behind the kitchen doors every night, but I hear them. All the time. It sounds as if they like me better, so why not? This is the time they have their talk, but I know it's nothing new. The same thing they have been talking about the last three nights._

_About how amazing their plan is going. How they can't believe I'm going through with it. Making deals about how long I'm going to last. Like I'm a coin, and they're betting if I will land on heads or tails. The only thing different than me and that coin, is that a coin probably is worth more than me._

_I don't know how long I can last. I have a huge headache for not sleeping a lot. My stomach is calling out for food, grumbling and begging. The worst pain though, is my heart. Throbbing with pain and betrayal. But I'll survive. I'm a ninja, and I have gone through worst. Every hour of sleep, every minute of sleeping is a waste of my time, and time is essential if I'm going to train._

Thinking that, Mikey shook himself out of his daydream. _Thinking is also a waste of time. _Mikey scolded himself.

_Gosh I'm thinking again! You know what Mikey, after you think this though just train, you have a few minutes until you have to cook dinner._

For the next few hungry and tired minutes, Mikey worked on his flips and katas, having no idea what his brothers were actually talking about in the kitchen.

**Leo's Pov**

Leo wouldn't admit it, at least not yet, but he was starting to feel worried for Mikey. Mikey thought no one was looking, when he pushed his food around his plate to make it look like he ate some. Leo noticed the bags under Mikey's once bright eyes. Yes, he was doing better in training, but Mikey's health was going downhill. Maybe he and his brothers were going too far, and he thought it was time to fix their mistakes.

Raph, Donnie, and Leo were in the kitchen, like the past few nights, talking how amazing it was that Mikey was acting like this. Maybe it was finally time to share his thoughts with them.

Donnie and Raph were laughing, talking about how long they thought Mikey was going to last without finally giving up, and that's when Leo thought was the right time to interrupt.

"Um guys, we have a problem." Leo stated.

"You mean besides that there are going to be no more bad guys cause with Mikey we'll be invincible." Raph grinned, and high fived Donnie.

"You guys, this is nice and all, but I think we're going too far. Mikey's health is going downhill.

Raph just rolled his eyes, but Donnie asked, "What do you mean Leo."

"You can't tell me you haven't noticed! He barely eats, he looks exhausted, and when have you seen him smile these past few days! There's something terribly wrong guys!" Leo shouted, finally glad to get that out.

"Leo you worry too much. Like _way_ too much." Raphael snickered.

"No, Raph! I don't worry too much! It's _you_ who should worry a little more!" Leo exclaimed.

"Both of you calm down! Now, Leo, what do you think we should do about it? It's not our fault." Donnie said in a calm matter.

"But it might guys. What if overheard us the past few days. We could be the reason." Leo reasoned.

"Or maybe it's Mikey just being Mikey. He just wants attention. Or maybe he just got a little common sense knocked into him." Raph cried out, looking extremely annoyed.

"How is not eating common sense Raphael! And even if it isn't our fault we're his brothers! Mikey isn't being himself and that worries me."

"How can Mikey not be Mikey. It's impossible for someone not to be their own self." Donnie said, in his 'I know everything voice.'

"Well for starters Donnie, Mikey hasn't smiled the past three days, which I already pointed out. He hasn't played any pranks, read any of his comics, rode his skateboard, or begged for food. His meals aren't creative, they're just plain cheese microwaved pizza! And if you looked at his eyes, you would see they get duller everyday!" Leo shouted, furious.

_How are they oblivious to these signs? Idiots. Wait, now that I think about it, I just realized it today, the fourth day that it has been happening. Does that mean I'm an idiot too?_

"Tell me Leo. If you think it's such a big deal, why haven't you done anything about it sooner?" Raph question.

"Well-cause-I-I-you know. Ugh, I haven't realized it until today. And I'm greatly ashamed in myself for not seeing it sooner, but there is still time we could do something about it." Leo sighed.

"It's ok Leo. You were the first one to notice it. And if this continues for the next three days, then we'll talk to him about it. But you may be overreacting. Let's see how it all plays out first." Donnie reasoned.

_But what if were too late by then? _Leo thought worriedly. But instead of sharing his thoughts, he just said, "Yeah, yeah. Ok. Everything is going to be fine." But Leo sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.

"Come on, training starts in a minute." Leo stated, and then turned around to walk to the dojo, rather quickly, so the others wouldn't see how worried he actually was.

**Raph's Pov**

_In my opinion, Leo is overreacting. But now that he mentions it, Mikey hasn't been himself. But I'm sure everything's fine. What's the worst that could happen? Mikey's stomach grumbled. Wow, it sure is the end of the world if that happens._

As Raph stepped into the dojo, he saw that it was only Mikey and Donnie.

"Hey where's Leo?" He asked.

"Oh, he went to get Master Splinter. He's late for our training." Don explained.

Raph just nodded and sat crossed-leg next to Donnie.

All of a sudden, Leo came out of the dojo with a look on his face. It looked like 'I knew it face.' Mixed with a 'This is bad' look. He would have to ask Leo about that later.

"So, where's Sensei?" Mikey asked. This was the first time he talked since Raph walked in. _That's weird. _Raph thought.

"Um….He had important business to carry and he said to do training without him." Leo said a little too quickly.

"Alright. So what do you guys want to do?" Donnie asked.

"I say we spar. Me versus Mikey. Donnie versus Leo." Raph decided. He had to show Leo that Mikey was fine.

"Well, you and Mikey can spar. I want to work on my Katas." Leo simply stated.

"So Donnie. You want to spar with me next?" Raph asked, smirking.

"Um, no thanks Raph. I'm going to….uh….work on my Katas too. See ya!" Donnie said quickly, and rushed off to follow Leo.

_Coward. _Raph thought.

"So knucklehead, we gonna fight or what? Raph demanded.

"Hold your horses Raph. I'm coming." Mikey mumbled.

Mikey and Raph faced each other, with a determined look on their green faces. They kept on circling each other until Mikey made the first move.

"Booyakasha!" Mikey shouted, but his heart wasn't into it. Mikey looked, what was the word, focused? Ready to attack? Raph didn't know, but the look in Mikey's eyes scared him. He had never seen them like that. The happy innocent look was gone. He now saw what Leo was talking about.

Spinning his nunchucks around, Mikey snapped at Raph's arm, twirling it around his ankle. Bringing in Raph towards him, like his nunchucks were a rope. Once Raph was close to him, Mikey punched him in the face.

"OW! Mikey calm down! This is just training!" Raph shouted, trying to knock some sense into him.

But Mikey just shook his head, and kicked Raph in his plastron. Raphael went flying into the wall, and he could feel a bruise starting to form. It hurt like _shell_, but he had gone through worst. But from Mikey, his little brother, this was something new.

"Mikey! What is your problem?" Raph shouted towards his little brother.

Just then was when Mikey realized what he done. Mikey slowly shook his head, as if trying to get over the fact that he just hurt his older brother, his hero. Tears welled in his baby blue eyes.

Raph _felt_ an aura of regret coming off his little brother. "Hey, Mikey, its ok. I'm fine." Raph soothed in a calm voice, and stood up to prove his point.

But Mikey just kept on shaking his head. "I'm so sorry." Mikey whispered, and rushed out of the lair into the sewers.

"No Mikey!" Raph exclaimed, but Mikey was already out.

Just then, Leo and Donnie came rushing out. "What happened? We heard a loud noise!" Leo proclaimed.

"Well, Mikey and I were sparring. You should have seen the look in his eyes, I don't know how to describe it. It was a mix of fury, confusion, and deception. Then he kicked me and I went flying towards the wall. He just mumbled sorry and ran out to the sewers. He was about to cry.

"Poor little guy." Donnie mumbled.

"This is exactly what I was talking about! But no! We had to wait three more days! It turned out, we couldn't even wait a few hours!" Leo shouted, exasperated.

"Ok Leo, we're sorry. You were right and we were wrong! Now can we please go get him before you get into your lecture!" Raph yelled.

"Yeah, yeah. Ok, let's go. Leo said, and ran off.

"Don't worry little brother. We're coming for you." Raph whispered, and raced off after his brothers.

**So there you have! Why did Leo have that face after he talked to Splinter? What will happen when Mikey is out alone? How will his brothers ever apologize to him? Hahahaha! You'll have to wait at least a week to find out! See ya! And Merry Christmas!**


	6. Chapter 6: Unexpected battle

**Ok, so I was reading the comments and I was like, "Oh no! These people really want me to update!" So, I'm doing this in my car on my new tablet that I got for Christmas, and I have a few hours before I get to where I have to go for vacation! So excuse me for any spelling errors, it's hard to write too hard to write on this thing!**

**Mikey's Pov**

_I hit my brother. I hit my brother. I hit my brother. Not an enemy, but me. I was the reason there is a bruise on the plastron. I was the cause of him being in pain._ Those words kept on swirling around in Mikey's mind. The guilt was unbearable. He tried to change to help his brothers, but he ended up hurting one of them. He ended up hurting his hero. Couldn't he do anything at all? Was he just a mistake?

Mikey kept running, not knowing where he was going, and not really caring either.

All of a sudden, light seeped through the dark and smelly sewers. Mikey looked up, wondering where this bright light was coming from. The moon. The moon was giving him light in the darkness. It comforted him, letting him know it was going to be alright. Mikey needed to get outside, he needed more light coming from the moon. To chase away the darkness.

Crawling out through a manhole, Mikey studied his surroundings, making no one was around. Once the coast was clear, he stepped outside. The breeze helped him calm his nerves, and for a second he was at peace.

Climbing up a latter, his mind wondered back to the day's horrible events. He didn't know why he had hurt Raph so bad. Mikey just felt so angry, confused, overwhelmed. He needed to take all his emotions out on something. Little did he know it would be one of his kind.

Reaching the top of the building, he decided that a little midnight run would clear up his clouded head. Running from rooftop to rooftop, a flash back came back to him.

_The day it all started. This was the same building. The same building that he fell, the same building what caused him to become the monster he was today._

Suddenly, the night air and the moonlight was so comforting. It actually made him feel alone. The moon seemed to be watching him, laughing at the cruelty he had directed to his brother. The wind seemed to whisper to him every mistake he had made in his life. There was now a tension in the air, as if someone were watching him. Or maybe, _following_ him.

Mikey knew one thing, he had to get out of here. But he didn't know where. Not to his place, his brothers defiantly didn't want to see him. He couldn't go back to the sewers, that would just make him feel more isolated. He could go to April's. She would listen to his problems, help him out.

Talking to no one in particular, Mikey mumbled, "I have to get to April's."

"I don't think so turtle." A dark, threatening voice boomed.

Mikey knew that voice, it was the Shredder's.

**Donnie's Pov**

"Where the hell could he be! We searched everywhere in the sewer!" Raph exclaimed.

"I don't know Raph. Hey, Donnie, can we go back home. We could get out T-Phones to see where he last was?" Leo asked.

_Oh yeah, he forgot. About half way through checking the sewers, they realized the forgot their T-Phone because they were in such a rush. But, we decided to keep looking, since we didn't want to go back and start all over again. Gosh, did he hope that Mikey had gone back home, hopefully back to his normal self. He didn't understand why Mikey was acting like that, he could have just asked for help. But maybe he did, we just all ignored it._

He shook himself out of his thoughts. Now wasn't the time to think back, it was time to act. All these questions would be answered as soon as they get Mikey back.

"Yeah, let's head back." Donnie agreed, and rushed back to the lair.

**Mikey's Pov**

"Shredder? Is that you? Show yourself you coward!" Mikey shouted.

The Shredder slowly came out of the shadows, with a menacing look on his face. "I don't think you have any right to call me a coward. You are the one running away from your brothers and your problems. Too scared to face them." The Shredder sneered.

"Shut up!" Mikey screamed.

"You're scared they will not accept you, or love you. But you have no need to think these thoughts Michelangelo. For they never had." The Shredder continued.

"I said shut up!" He shouted.

"They never needed you. Never have, never will. You are just a liability to them, useless. They don't care that you're gone. They are probably hoping you never come back. So why don't we just make things easier for me, you, and your brothers. Let me kill you, you could escape your pain, your brothers would be happy, and then I won't have you as a pain in my thigh." The Shredder suggested.

"No way! Dude, how stupid do you think I am? My brothers may not love me, but with me gone, you'll have a greater chance of getting them! Are you serious, why would you even suggest that?" Mikey exclaimed.

"Fine. If you don't willingly give me your life, then I will _take_ it." The shredder growled.

"You're on." Mikey said, and they charged at each other.

**Leo's Pov**

They were all starting over Donnie's shoulder, looking at the T-Phone, and trying to locate their little brother.

"I got it guys! He's on the rooftop that's on 48th street. Where we were spying on the Kraang a few days ago." Donnie explained.

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him!" Raph demanded.

"Wait up Raph, he's running at something, or someone. He could be in trouble, maybe facing an enemy." Donnie said worriedly.

"The more of a reason to go. Let's head out." Leo commanded.

_Oh Mikey. What have you gotten yourself into this time?_

**Mikey's Pov**

"Booyakasha!" Mikey shouted as he ran to the Shredder.

Taking out his Nunchuck Mikey twirled them around, making them gain momentum, so when he struck the Shredder, it would leave a greater impact.

"Take this Shred-Head!" Mikey shouted, swinging his Nunchuck on his stomach.

"Oh you little brat!" Shredder roared. Bringing out his spikes on his hand, he swung his hand across Mikey's face. The spikes tore apart his flesh, and pain took over. Putting a hand up to his injury, he felt a warm liquid. Blood.

Noticing that Michelangelo was busy checking the harm he had caused him, Shredder showed no mercy. He punched Mikey in his plastron, and it caused way more than just a bruise. Mikey head cracking, and he guessed that Shredder just broke some of his ribs. Mikey fell to the floor, trying to control his ragged breathing.

Mikey didn't know how long he could last fighting. He seriously needed his brothers right now. But they wouldn't come. Either they didn't know he was gone, which was stupid since Raph had saw him rush out, or they just didn't care. He was on his own.

Slowly, he got up, his eyes focusing on his enemy. He remembered a few months back, Master Splinter had taught him something. _When fighting an enemy, don't look at his weapon, but look in his eye. His sword may lie, but his eyes do not._

"What's the matter Michelangelo? Are you too weak to continue fighting? Or are you still trying to get over the fact that your idiotic brothers aren't here to fight besides you?"

That was it. Shredder had crossed the line. No one, and he meant no one, called his brothers idiotic. If he wasn't going to live pass today, then he would die restoring his brother's honor that the Shredder had just threatened.

With new strength, he charged at the Shredder, Nunchuck spinning wildly, ready to attack. "How dare you ruin my brother's honor!" Mikey shouted, and swung his nunchuck at Shredder's face. Then he violently kicked him in the stomach, where Shredder went flying towards the edge.

"You will pay turtle!" Shredder yelled, and quickly got up. The Shredder quickly went to Mikey and grabbed him by the neck.

Mikey felt the sweet oxygen abandon him, and left him struggling for air. "I will get rid of you permanently." Oruku Saki growled.

_No. This can't be the end. I have so many things to do in my life. I really can't think of them, since I can't breathe, but I'm sure there are a ton. Up until a few days ago, I thought I would die as an old turtle, with tiny turtle babies and grandchildren. Or fighting besides my brothers. I guess this is the second best option, dying while trying to protect my brothers._

Just as Mikey was about to lose conscious, he heard, wait, was that Leo's voice? "Let our brother go Shredder." Leo commanded forcefully.

"My pleasure." Shredder complied, and dropped Mikey off the edge on the building, making him land right on his skull.

"Mikey!" His brothers shouted, and ran towards him.

"I will come back for you turtles. But I'll let you enjoy the torture of your brother being badly injured." The Shredder smirked, and disappeared back towards the haunting shadows.

His brothers held his hand, saying comforting words, and urging him to stay awake.

The pain hurt so much, but for some odd reason he was happy. But why? Suddenly, he knew. His worst fear hadn't come true. He wasn't alone. His brothers had arrived.

"Mikey! I need you to stay awake! Can you see me? Do you know who we are?" Donnie asked.

But Mikey didn't answer. He just said three words. "You guys came." And then he drifted off to unconsciousness.

**Well, I hope that was enough to keep you satisfied until I come back. It's really hard to concentrate on the bumpy road, but I hoped it was good enough! **

**See ya! ;)**


	7. Chapter 7- Breathe!

**Alright everyone, yes I know, it has been 14 days since I updated, when I was suppose too update like 7 or 8 days ago, but I've been going through some hard times since I came back from vacation. So sorry if this chapter is not as good as the others, but I really tried to make it good. I know what I'm going through shouldn't make you get a bad chapter, so yeah, I tried. And please remember, I AM NOT A DOCTOR! I AM SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER THOSE NOT SATSIFY THE NEED OF MEDICAL KNOWING KIDS/TEENAGERS/ADULTS! Hope you still enjoy though!**

**Leo's Pov (Flashback)**

_The wind fiercely blew as he and his brothers raced to the direction the T-Phone said Mikey was. Leo was worried sick, what if Mikey was in danger? Master Splinter had warned him, and he chose to neglect it. If something bad had happened it would be all Leo's fault. Beep, beep, beep. The T-Phone rang, signaling that they were getting closer to closer to Mikey. But the problem was, that it was too quiet. Unnaturally quiet, like the day they had fought the Kraang. But unlike last time, where the silence was just plain weird, this silence seemed to mock them, or maybe warning them to leave. _

_Suddenly, a voice broke the uncomforting silence. "Shredder? Is that you? Show yourself you coward!" Was that, Mikey? Squinting his eyes, he saw that it was indeed Mikey, a few buildings in front of them. Why was he calling out to the Shredder._

_"Guys look! It's Mikey!" Leo exclaimed._

_"Then let's go get him!" Raph shouted impatiently, already jumping to the next rooftop._

_Leo sighed in annoyance, but followed him anyways._

_Abruptly, Raph stopped mid-run. "What is it Raph?" Leo asked curiously._

_Raph just pointed, and Leo gasped. It was Mikey, and the Shredder. 'This is worse than I thought.' _

_"I don't think you have any right to call me a coward. You are the one running away from your brothers and your problems. Too scared to face them." Shredder sneered._

_"Shut up!" Mikey screamed._

_"You're scared they will not accept you, or love you. But you have no need to think these thoughts Michelangelo. For they never had." The Shredder continued._

_"I said shut up!" Mikey shouted angrily._

_"They never needed you. Never have, never will. You are always the first one to go down. You are just a liability to them, useless. They don't care that you're gone. They are probably hoping you never come back. So why don't we just make things easier for me, you, and your brothers. Let me kill you, you could escape your pain, your brothers would be happy, and then I won't have you as a pain in my thigh." The Shredder suggested._

_Raph started balling his fist, but Leo clutched his shoulder. "Wait up." Leo commanded. Leo wasn't sure what was holding back, but he wanted to see how this would unfold._

_"No way! Dude, how stupid do you think I am? My brothers may not love me, but with me gone, you'll have a greater chance of getting them! Are you serious, why would you even suggest that?" Mikey exclaimed._

_Wait a minute, hold up. Mikey didn't think they loved him? Why would that thought even pop up inside his head. Leo took a glance at Donnie and Raph, and saw that they were mirroring the same perplexed faces Leo was wearing._

"_Fine. If you don't willingly give me your life, then I will take it." The Shredder growled._

_Leo knew that this was the time to step in and help Mikey, but he felt frozen to the spot. It was as if he was watching a battle scene in a movie. But Leo knew this wasn't a movie with actors. It was an actual fight between their arch nemesis and their little brother. But still, Leo couldn't find it in him to move._

_"You're on." Mikey said, and they charged at each other._

_"Booyakasha!" Mikey shouted, hitting Shredder in the stomach._

_"Oh you little brat!" Shredder roared. Bringing out his spikes on his hand, he swung his hand across Mikey's face. The spikes tore apart his flesh, and pain took over._

_"Um, Leo!" Donnie screamed urgently. Leo didn't know what was wrong with him, he was frozen. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak. It as if he was paralyzed._

_He punched Mikey in his plastron, and Mikey fell down with a crack. Michelangelo looked as if he was in major pain, which he probably was, but there was a fire in his eyes. The fire in his eyes held flames of determination. And Leo could tell Mikey wasn't going to back down._

_"What's the matter Michelangelo? Are you too weak to continue fighting? Or are you still trying to get over the fact that your idiotic brothers aren't here to fight besides you?" The Shredder sneered._

_Suddenly, something in Mikey must have cracked, because he seemed to have new fury within, and he charged at the Shredder._

_"How dare you ruin my brother's honor!" Mikey shouted, and swung his nunchuck at Shredder's face. Then he violently kicked him in the stomach, where Shredder went flying towards the edge._

_Leo never knew Mikey had this violence inside of him. It was weird how just a few days ago they had a fun loving, innocent, and carefree little brother. Now, in the past three days, they had a determined, angry, strong brother, along with a bit of confusion, and betrayal. The problem was, Leo had no idea why._

_Turning his attention, back to the fight, he saw Oruko Saki holler, "You will pay turtle!" He quickly got up, and in a split second, had Mikey hanging by his throat. Mikey was turning blue, and he looked as if he was in desperate need of oxygen. If he wasn't released soon, Mikey wouldn't make it. He would die. HE WOULD DIE! Ho come Leo have not realized it sooner. It sunk in, through this whole battle, Mikey could have died, and he was just standing there watching it all play out. He had to do something right now!_

"Let our brother go Shredder." Leo commanded forcefully, finally coming to his senses.

"With pleasure." Shredder complied, and dropped Mikey off the edge on the building, making him land right on his head.

"Mikey!" Leo and his brothers shouted simultaneously, and rushed to him. Shredder said something about enjoying torture, but Leo's focus was on his youngest brother.

"Mikey! I need you to stay awake! Can you see me? Do you know who we are?" Donnie desperately asked.

But Mikey just had this small smile plastered on his face, and said, "You guys came." And then he went unconscious.

"NO! Mikey I need you to stay awake! Do you understand me? MIKEY WAKE UP!" Donnie shouted. "Guys we need to get him back to the lair! Carry him carefully, and try not to harm his injuries anymore!" Donnie exclaimed sounding worried. Wow, Donnie, the doctor of the family was worried. And he hadn't even done test on Mikey to see what was wrong with Mikey. This must have been worse than Leo thought. Maybe if they had helped Mikey in the fight earlier, they wouldn't be in this mess. But now wasn't the time to think about the past and what he should have done. He had to focus on the present, and do what he could. And that was taking Mikey back home.

So Leo took Mikey's arms and head, Donnie took his legs, and Raph took Mikey's back, and they took off. Leo was so stuck in his world of worry, that he didn't realize that they went into the sewers until he felt cold water on his feet.

"We need to go quicker guys! This cold sewer air is just going to make Mikey's condition worsen!" Don warned.

So without another word, the three brothers picked up their pace, concern for their youngest brother motivating them. The only sound in the smelly sewers were the turtles' footsteps, and Mikey's ragged breathing, which seemed to get worse by the second.

"We're hear guys!" Donnie exclaimed. Leo would've been excited, but he had a bad feeling that the worst was still yet to come.

"Leo, go get Master Splinter! Raph, I need you to put Mikey in the infirmary, and then get me a wet cloth and some blankets!" Donatello commanded.

_Is this how I sound when I command them?_ Leo thought. Half of Leo was annoyed, but the other half was relieved to have a job to take his mind off Mikey. With caution, he approached Master Splinter's room. A sudden thought occurred to Leo. _What would Master Splinter say when I tell him what happened. He had informed me, of those terrible things that might come, and I neglected it. He would be so disappointed in me._ _He would think it was my fault, which it is. I had the power to stop it but, I didn't._

Well, Leo couldn't just wait here, Sensei would find out today. Plus, he had a job to do, so taking a deep breathe, he walked into the room.

There were two flickering candles illuminating the room. Master Splinter was sitting crossed legged, his eyes closed.

"Yes Leonardo?" Splinter asked, without opening his eyes. _How the shell does he do that? _Master Splinter, we have, ah…. We have an emergency. It's about Mikey." Leo stuttered. He hated how weak his voice sounded.

"Did I, or did I not warn you about this Leonardo?" Sensei asked.

"Yes you did, and I'm sorry Sensei, but maybe you can reprimand me later? Donnie was extremely worried, so we better go check on him." Leo said, trying not to sound disrespectful.

"Yes, my son. You are right." Splinter complied, getting up. Let us see Michelangelo."

Nodding, Leo led Master Splinter to the infirmary. Opening the door, he saw a sight that he wished he never have to see.

**Raph's Pov**

Raph stepped into Donnie's infirmary, with three blankets and a wet cloth in his hands.

"I brought the blankets Don." Raph said to Donnie, who was apparently checking out to see how Mikey was. Seeming satisfied, he walked to his laptop, probably to do some research on what he knew.

"Alright, just place the blankets carefully around Mikey's body, and the cloth on his forehead. I called April, she said that she's going to bring some medical supplies. I can't do much without them, I already cleaned up all his injuries. Let's just try to bring down his fever for now." Donnie briefed without even looking up from his computer screen.

Nodding, he went towards Mikey, frowning as he saw him. Mikey was sweating bullets, but shivering at the same time. He had scratches and bruises all over his body. He was unnaturally pale, and he had a huge bump on his head. Raphael knew however bad Mikey looked, he would be worse. And that chilled him to the core.

Placing the cold, wet cloth on Mikey's forehead as Donnie instructed, he stared at him with sad eyes.

"I know you get in a lot of trouble Mikey, but you have to be kidding me." Raph muttered.

Michelangelo was so quiet and still. Wait a minute. Raphael nervously looked at Mikey's chest. It remained unmoving. Raphael had no idea what to do, so he did the only thing he_ could_ do.

"Donnie! Mikey's not breathing!" Raph shouted in a panic voice.

"What? But that's impossible, he was fine a minute ago!" Donnie mumbled, rushing toward Mikey.

_Push_

_Push_

_Push_

_Push_

_Push_

"Come on Mikey!" Donnie exclaimed.

_Push_

_Push_

_Push_

"Raph! Get the oxygen mask! It's in the top draw in the cabinets!" Donnie shouted.

"Oxygen mask, oxygen mask." He mumbled to himself as he searched the cabinet. It was filled with bandages, medicine, and other stuff Raph couldn't even recognize. _Yes!_ He thought triumphantly as he held up the oxygen mask.

"Handing the mask to Donnie, Raph muttered, "I'm not even going to ask where you got that."

"You would be surprised to see what humans throw away." Don said so quickly that he almost didn't understand it.

Slipping the oxygen mask on Mikey, and switching on the oxygen tank, Donnie continued to do compressions. That's when he noticed that Leo and Sensei had stepped into the room, their mouths wide open.

Turning his attention back to his little brother, he saw Michelangelo's breathing slowly return back to normal.

"Yes! Donnie shouted, slumping down to the floor with exhaustion.

"What just happened!" Leo shouted. His worry was so obvious, that he could have been wearing a sign saying _"I'm freaking out!"_

"Mikey-he-he." Donnie struggled.

Giving a look at Donnie that said, _"I'll tell them_", Raph took over. "Mikey stopped breathing. We had to do something." Raph said, not having to say anymore. Leo and Sensei merely nodded.

"Well, at least the worst is over." Leo said after a few moments in uncomfortable silence.

"Actually Leo, I think it just began. We were lucky." Donnie said, getting up from the floor after catching his breathe.

"How is our little brother not breathing lucky!" Raph exclaimed. "How could it possibly it worst!"

"Well, I don't know! Maybe he could have, died! Maybe he could have been too late and lost him!" Donnie screamed, finally losing it.

A hush of silence settled over the room. "I'm- I'm sorry." Donnie stuttered, tears in his eyes

Leo came, and put an arm around Don. It's alright Donnie, it's the truth. We were very lucky indeed." Leo soothed.

Raph felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Of course they were lucky, things could have been way worse.

"Sorry Donnie." Raph said, almost a whisper.

Donnie nodded his head, and wiped his eyes.

"My son. What did you mean the worst is yet to come? Mater Splinter asked.

"Well, if we had to do CPR, than them it must have been worse than we thought. Without the medical care he needs, things are going to go downhill. And Shredder had punched him in the gut, so with us-me- doing compressions on him, that could just make it worse.

"You had to do compressions Donnie, there wasn't any other choice. Leo pointed out, arm still around Don, just in case he still needed the comfort.

"Yeah." Donatello just sighed.

"Um, Don? Why didn't Mikey wake up through this whole, um….experience?" Raph asked, choosing his words carefully.

"Well, Mikey was unconscious when he stopped breathing, so it's no surprise he remained that way. But if he doesn't wake up soon, that could be a major problem. But for now, it means that his body is getting the rest he needs." Donnie explained.

"Any more questions?" Donatello asked.

"Two more." Leo stated. "One. Do you know any of his injuries?" Leo asked.

One part of Raph had been dying to find out, but the other was scared. What if he wasn't able to handle it? But they had to know. Whether they liked it or not, the truth would catch up to them.

Donnie took a deep breathe. "Well, I barley been able to do research, but based on past research and books I read, I have a few theories. I think Mikey may have cracked a few rips, which would have caused him to pierce his lung. That might be why he stopped breathing. And that huge gash on his head when he landed from the building, I think he might have fractured his skull. Which may result in brain damage, or even…death." Donnie said with difficulty.

"Of course I'm not 100% sure, but if I had to gamble I would bet my life on that." Donnie said.

"How can you know all of that? Raph asked.

"I've read more books on this then we have fought battles." Don simply said.

"Wow." Was all that Raph said.

Raph always thought that being smart and having knowledge would be amazing. But now he saw that there was a huge bad side. With all that intelligence and awareness, you knew what was going to happen, the result of things. And knowing those things can chill you to the core. Raoh was actually gald not to be the smart one at this moment.

The family was quiet for a long time, all lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Donnie finally spoke up.

"Leo, you said you had two questions for me. You only asked one, what was the last one?"

Leo took a deep breathe, as if just saying this would be one of the worst experiences he would have to go through.

"Will he survive?"

Donnie looked down, stayed silent for a while, and then looked up with fresh tears in his chocolate brown eyes.

They all held their breaths, eager yet dreading the answer.

"If you want the honest answer Leo. Probably not."

**So again, I am NO DOCTOR! And yes, I know, one of my worst and longest chapters. Please bear with me, and maybe some of you will still stick with this story after this crummy chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8: A twist

**Firstly, I apologize for chapter 6 and 7 for having a glitch. Please tell me if you find that problem again! And one last thing, who saw the 1****st**** TMNT episode of season 4? I loved it, seeing April and Leo work together was just so amazing! Now enough of my stupid author's note that I always put, and onto the story!**

**Donnie's Pov**

He said it. He finally told his father and brothers his suspicions. How desperately did he want to tell his brothers that he didn't know for sure, that he was just guessing, but then he would be lying. All the signs pointed to that answer. He stopped breathing due to a pierced lung, the bleeding from his skull meant a cracked skull, his cracked rib due to his ragged breathing. And a ton of other factors!

"But, you can fix him? Can't you?" Leo whispered.

"Leo, I'm a mechanic, not a doctor. And I don't even know how I am going to fix him without the right medical supplies. Hopefully April brings the right supplies before it is too late." Donnie hoped.

Suddenly, maybe by a miracle, or luck, the red head walked into the liar woth a old dusty box filled with medical supplies.

"Guys, I came with the medical supplies. Is he- Oh my gosh! Mikey" She shouted mid-sentence, dashing towards Mikey.

"Is he? You know?" April asked.

"No. Not yet at least." Don sighed.

She seemed to get the hint.

"Oh guys." She said sadly. "Do you know what's wrong with him? Is there anything I could do to help?"

"Well, from what I can tell he has a cracked rib which pierced his lung, and a cracked skull that can cause brain damage if not treated immediately. Then, I think he might have a twisted ankle, but that's not such a big deal compared to his other injuries. But it's still essential to fix that up. We have to make sure to keep him hydrated, so pretty much we should wet his lips every few minutes." Donnie listed, counting off the things that we had to do.

"Alright, I'll get a bowl of water." April decided, already heading towards the kitchen.

Turning to Sensei, Donnie questioned as respectfully as he could while trying to get over the fact that his only little brother could be dying right before his very eyes. "Who knows when Mikey will wake up. But, when he does, we are going to have to do a procedure on him. Do you think you could make him some numbing tea?"

"Of course Donatello." Splinter complied, and headed out of the room.

"Leo, Raph, can you wrap up Mikey's leg with the tape April brought. " Don requested.

"Didn't you say that the head is the most important thing we have to fix." Leo stated.

"Yeah, but I need to be certain it is a cracked skull. I don't have an x-ray, but I could do the next best thing. I need to take a MRI, which is like an x-ray on my computer.

Nodding, Leo went to Mikey as April came in with a bowl of shimmering water.

"Thanks April. Just gently put it on his lips." Don demanded softly, without looking up from the computer screen, rapidly typing.

**April's Pov**

"Alright." April nodded, walking towards Mikey. "Oh Mikey. What are we going to do with you?" She mumbled, gently spreading water on his cracked lips.

Mikey was like a little brother that she never had. So filled of light, and even though he could be quite annoying, he was still the most precious thing. It was a true experience, like really having siblings that she once longed to have. It was as if all the light drained out of him. And she felt…Well, she felt as if someone had stabbed her in the heart with a knife over and over again. And she couldn't stop looking at his body, like someone was pulling her eyes open. And she hated feeling like this. _If I feel as crestfallen as I do right now, I wonder how Mikey's real brothers must be feeling._ April thought with despair.

"Um, April?" Leo asked waving a sea green hand in front of her. Shaking her head, she realized she was staring at Mikey, tears slowly rolling down her face.

"Hey, its o.k. April. We'll fix this. Mikey is strong, he'll get through this. _We'll _get through this." Leo soothed in a gentle and comforting voice.

Nodding, April wiped her tears and unwrapped herself from Leo's arms.

Taking a deep breathe to relax herself, she asked, "You need any help with Mikey's leg?"

"Yea, if you could just raise his leg a bit as we wrap the tape around it." Leo requested.

Doing as she was told, she gently grabbed Mikey's and raised it just high enough for Leo and Raph to work. During this whole procedure, Raph had been quiet. He was really distant, it was like he was physically here doing to action, but his mind was elsewhere. He was trying to keep his cool, but April could tell that he felt like breaking down. She made a mental note to talk to him later, but for now she had to give all her attention to Michelangelo.

"Alright guys, are you done wrapping up his leg?" Don called about five minutes later.

"Yeah genius, were finished." Raph said.

"O.k., I need you to step back. I'm going to do a MRI, and I need the area to be absolutely clear, this test is critical if Mikey is ever going to recover.

So Leo, Raph, and April took a huge stepped back, and then a red scanner went up and down on Mikey's head, making a beeping sound, probably giving information to Donnie.

Then the machine died down, indicating that the scan was finished. Donatello carefully read over his computer, and he started shaking his head. "No." Donnie whispered.

**Donnie's Pov**

_You have to be kidding me! Why, why, why, why! Why me? Huh? Why Mikey…_

"Why do I always have to be right?" He screamed to no one in particular.

"Donnie?" April asked softly.

Taking a gulp of air, he steadied himself, and faced his brothers and his beautiful crush. "He indeed has a fractured skull. But it's done more damage than we thought, I have no idea how to fix this! Guys, it cracked right in the middle, where his brain should be. Do you understand how hard this is going to be to fix? How difficult it will be for Mikey to survive this! How am I suppose too fix this, I can't do this! He shouted.

April made her way to him with caution. Holding his hand firmly, she started into his worried-filled brown eyes. "Donnie, its ok. I promise you, we will fix Mikey. And _you _don't have to go through this. Were all in this _together_." She said, motioning her hand across the room, stopping her hand in front of Raph, Leo, to the kitchen where Splinter was, herself, himself, and finally Mikey. April's words calmed down Donnie a lot. She was right, they would do this.

"April, I am going to have to see the medical supplies that you brought." Don said, finding control in his voice once more.

"Alright." April agreed, walking towards her bag, with Donnie and his brothers in tow.

Donatello rummaged through the box, examining the medical supplies April brought. Bandages, a thermometer, elastic surgical tape, a wound closer system, surgical scissors, antibiotics, tubes, and a million other things.

"Wow April! Where did you get all this?" Donna asked, fascinated. All his life he could only dream of having this supplies. He would enjoy them more, of course, if they weren't under the circumstances they were now.

"When you called me and Casey, we were volunteering at a hospital to help kids who couldn't walk. So when I got called there was an emergency, they let me borrow a few stuff." April explained.

"Wow. What luck." Leo marveled.

"Speaking of Casey, where is he?" Raph asked, obviously hoping he would be here, or if not then come soon.

"He went to get his grandmas credit card. I tried to talk him out of it, but he said were going to need money if it was bad." April sighed, evidently annoyed.

"That's just who Casey is." Donnie groaned.

Suddenly, there was a groan coming from the bed. "Ughhhhhh."

_Mikey! No, no ,no ,no ,no! He was suppose too be asleep for at least another twenty-four hours! Someone should have been watching him! _Don thought frantically. This was not suppose too be planed. Something was _horribly_ wrong.

"Mikey!" Raph exclaimed, and rushed to the bedside, with the others quickly trailing behind him.

"Sensei! I need to numbing tea!" Donnie shouted from the room while trying to collect his cool. Even though he knew this wasn't planned, he couldn't help but be excited. Even though it had only been a few hours, it had felt like days since they had seen Mikey's baby blue eyes staring at them. _Here it goes._ Donnie thought, stepping into the room.

**Mikey's Pov**

_Ugh, I feel like I got ran over by the Shell-Raiser, like a million times. Where am I? And why do I hear myself like an echo? Wait, hold up. Master Splinter said something about this before, what was it? Argh! Why don't I pay attention to these things? Hm… Oh yeah! It was something about being trapped in your own mind. Right…_

_WAIT! I'M TRAPPED IN MY OWN MIND?! This is too weird! Get me out of here!_

_Silence was the only thing that responded._

_Shell, how do I get out of here? Am I even able to walk through my own mind? Maybe if I imagine my physical body walking. Ugh! Stupid spiritual stuff that I don't understand! Ok, let's see. If I think I'm moving forward, would I?_

_As an answer to his question, Mikey slowly progresses forward. "Awesome! Now to find my way out of here."_

_After walking what felt like eternity, we suddenly heard a voice. _

_"Michelangelo?"_

_Oh no! No, please gosh no! Not again! Mikey started imaging himself moving forward even faster, and soon he was running, in his mind if that was even possible._

_"Don't try running, I'm everywhere. In your nightmares, reality, and now in your mind."_

_"Shredder! How are you doing this!" Mikey shouted._

_"Not for you to know puny turtle. Now come to me, and you shall be mine." Shredder sneered._

_"No way Shred head! For all I care, you could follow me even when I'm dead, I will never give myself too you!_

_"Why? Isn't it better than living with your brothers? After all, if I do recall, they came a little late to save you, don't you think. And they are always calling you an idiot, and stupid, and they want you to change. Your life will be so much simpler than it is with me than it is with them. Join me Michelangelo." Oruko Saki bribed._

_"How do you even know this! How do you know how my brothers treat me, or even how I think? You can't have access into my life! Or my mind for that matter!" Mikey shouted._

_"Ah, I guess since you won't live long enough, I might as well give you a little information. You see, I have hired some new recruits. Morgan Willow and Obsidian Black, my new scientist and spies. You see, my new scientist have been able to hack into your systems, being able to see or hear anything going on. And that is not the best part Michelangelo. Not only have they found a way to hack into your lair, but your mind too. Soon, we will hack into your Master's mind. You are simply like a test run Michelangelo, but trust me, I will get rid of you once this is through."_

_"But how did you hack into the system with my brother Donnie knowing! And how is it possible to hack into minds. And where exactly did you get those new scientist? What are you going to do to my Sensei and bothers, to me? What do you have planned Shredder?" Mikey shouted._

_"Ah, Michelangelo. So many questions and yet so many untidy answers. And looks like my time is up." Shredder taunted, and disappeared._

_"Shredder wait up! Come back here this instance!" Mikey shouted, but instead he started to rush towards a light. His brothers voices became cleared, and he felt himself becoming consciousness._

"Mikey? Bro…Up!

Open…eyes!

My…son please!

Mikey could only hear bits and pieces of what his brothers and everyone was telling him. He had to warn them about what happened.

He started moving his lips, but no sound got out.

"Shush guys, he's trying to say something!" Donnie commanded.

"Sh-Sh-Shredder."

**And there we have it! Did not expect that to happen, but it came to while writing, so yeah. I must say, after taking all the exams I took this week, this chapter came out better than expected. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it!**


	9. Chapter 9: What if

***Dodges shoes and tomatoes being thrown at her.* "So…hi readers. How you doing? Heh."**

***Donnie, Leo, and Raph come storming in. *Raph yells*"How do you think they're doing! You left us on hold with our brother dying, for TWO WEEKS! AND NOTHING HAS HAPPENED! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH?"**

**"I'm so sorry! Really, I am! You see- *Gets interrupted by Raph* "Ok, so not only do you not update in two weeks, but you bother them with this stupid authors note."**

**"Fine! If you want to know where I've been, it will be at the end of this chapter! There, everyone happy?!"**

**(Haven't done this in a while) Disclamier: I do not own the turtles. *Raph interrupts me, again!* "Thank gosh, or our lives would be terrible."**

**"SHUT UP!"**

**Mikey's Pov**

"Sh-Shre-dder." He whispered. He didn't exactly know who he was talking too, but he felt Shredder was still haunting him, even though he disappeared, and he thought maybe by saying it he would feel a little better and snap him out of his trance.

That is when he realized the distant but certain voices for his brothers. It seemed like they were half way around the world, yet right in front of him at the same time. It was like you were calling a relative who lived far away, but yet you can hear them right next to your ear.

"Mik….open…eyes." Someone called, sounding a bit like Don.

"Mmmmm." Mikey whined, unable to talk, he was surprised he even had the strength to even make that noise. But he did as he was told, and opened his eyes, just to have a rush of blinding light came towards him. Pain flowed through him, the light giving him a major head rush.

"Guys….off…lights." Someone said, but this time Mikey wasn't able to pinpoint who it was.

"Alright Mikey…can….open…eyes." Deciding to take his chances, he slightly opened one eye, and deciding it was safe, opened both of them. He was greeted by the blurry sights of his brothers, a girl with red hair, probably April, and Sensei circling him. That's when the pain rammed into him. His head was pounding, and it was so difficult to breathe. Every breath was a punch to the ribs, and he felt so nauseas. Then, the memories came back to him. Hearing his brothers not want him, changing, hurting Raph, fighting the Shredder. All the horrible moments in the past week ran into him, one after the other. He felt his heart beat quicker, and his breathes were becoming shallow and quick.

"Mikey! Calm down! It's me Donnie, and your brothers. Deep breathes, your safe now." Apparently, Donnie said. He guessed that along with his other senses, his hearing was getting better. The figures of his brothers stated to go into focus, and they were getting less blurry. But every time he could see them clearer, the pain increased.

"Look at me Mikey. Breathe along with me." Donatello said, slowly taking deep breathes to show Mikey. With extreme difficulty, Mikey tried to steady his breathing, and after a few minutes of his brothers urging him, he got his breathing under control, at least better than before.

"Mikey, I am going to give you some painkillers. It won't make all the pain go away, but you should feel at least a bit better than this." Donnie said. All Mikey cold do was bob his head. Which he hoped his brothers took that as an "O.k."

Luckily, his brothers understood, and seeing he didn't have the strength, put the pills in his mouth, and suddenly a stream of water went down him itchy throat. He didn't realize how dry and sore his throat felt, but the refreshing, cold water was like heaven in his mouth. If only water cold cure the rest of his aching body too.

**Leo's Pov**

The pain on his little brother's face was evident. He seemed to be suffering, and it shouldn't be that way. He wasn't suppose too wake up now, heck he wasn't even suppose too be in this situation. If anyone, it should be him_. He_ didn't do anything to stop the fight_, he_ wasn't there to stop Mikey from running off.

But, Leo knew that he couldn't turn back the clock, there was nothing he could do about the past. But Leo knew one thing. _He_ would be there to help Mikey recover. _He_ would not let Mikey die. And _he _was going to make sure nothing like this ever happened again.

"Mikey, you are back home. Nothing bad is going to happen, you are going to alright." Leo soothed.

"Hurrtss. Tireddd." Mikey slurred, unable to say anything else.

"I know Mikey, but _please_ stay awake for a little longer. For us?" Don encouraged softly.

"K" Mikey responded, but still grimacing in pain. Leo grabbed Mikey's hand and gave it a slight squeeze, and Mike's features relaxed just a little.

Leo noticed that ever since Mikey had woke up, Raph had been unusually quiet. He was just looking at Mikey, guilt and pity written all over his face. Leo would have to talk to him later.

"Mikey, I have to put an IV in you, so you'll just feel a slight pinch. I promise, but we need to do it if you want to get better" Don explained while pulling out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a needle, and some tape.

At the sight of the needle, Mikey panicked. He was terrified of shots, and it was always a struggle to give him one. Fortunately for them, Mikey was too weak and exhausted to fight back, he just laid there with a panicked look on his face. Leo actually thought that was worse though, if he were to fight back, at least they would know he had some strength in him. And he had just encountered the Shredder, Leo knew it must be horrible to face another one of his fears.

"Mikey, don't look at the needle. Look at my eyes, focus on what I am telling you." Leo said, and Mikey brought his attention to Leo. Sharing a knowing glance at Donnie, he began to talk.

"Remember the time you fought those wasp? You were so strong and brave Mikey. You fought with courage, like a true warrior. Or the time we first fought Shredder? We were all so scared, but you went and attacked him with you nunchuka. Even if it meant being crushed by a ten ton sign. You have done so many heroic actions, and we are so proud of you little brother. You never gave up then, so don't give up now." Leo said, blinking back tears.

Mikey gave Leo a small smile. "Thanks." He whispered.

"Done." Donnie announced. "Did you feel anything Mikey?" Don asked, and to his satisfaction, Mikey slightly shook his head. It turned out, focusing himself on Leo made him unaware of what was happening. They would have to try that with Mikey in the future. _If _Mikey lasted that long.

"Ok Mikey. I am going to give you a sedative, which will make you fall in a deep sleep." Don explained.

"Mikey, and as your leader, I command you to wake up when you are suppose too this time." Leo demanded playfully.

"Yes sir." Mikey agreed, and already began to fall asleep. Once he was out, Leo mumbled, "And please Mikey. Don't stay asleep either."

"Ok guys, I need you to step out for a few moments, me and April have some work to do. I can't have too many people here while I'm doing this part of the procedure." Donatello ordered.

"We're his brothers. Why can't we stay?" Raph huffed. _Oh sure. He'll talk to complain, but not to be there for our youngest brother._

"Well, that's because I need to focus. And trust me, you guys can come in just when I am done with this part. You see, I am going to do surgery on his skull, I need to reattach the bones, and I have to remove any damaged tissues that may cause damage. And I need April's skinny hands, and my knowledge to work on this." Don explained.

"Skinny hands?" April questioned. "What do you mean, _skinny_ hands?"

"Well, you know. Smaller hands than ours. Please April, I need your help." Don begged.

"How can I refuse?" April questioned, and started putting on a pair of yellow nurse gloves.

"But-" Raph started to protest, but Leo stopped him. "Wait Raph, as much as it kills me to wait, he need to let Don do his thing." Leo explained as calmly as he could, and getting a grateful look from Donnie in return. When his hot headed brother stayed put, Leo yanked his arm, and started to drag Raph, and he finally complied, trudging out the door with Leo.

As Raph exited the room, Leo whispered "Good luck Don, save our little brother." And followed Raph into to living room.

**Raph's Pov**

_Donnie has no right to kick me out! Mikey is my brother too, who does he think he is, kicking me out! For all I know he could be lying to us, and Mikey can be dying right now! Please let Mikey be o.k. Please, please, please!_ Raph thought with misery, his hope was seeping away ever moment that passed by.

Lost in his own thought, Raph absent mindly sat on the sofa, and put his head into his cupped hands, thinking of _what ifs_. _What if_ they never had that sparring match? _What if_ they got to him sooner? _What if _they had listened to Leo when he said something may be wrong with Mikey? Raph knew his little brother, and Mikey would never go as far as to hurt any member of his family. Was it what they said, could he have some way over heard Don, Leo, and him when they were talking about him? Was that the case, or was it something more? These questions were driving him crazy!

Raph felt the sofa shift under some more weight, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Leo taking a seat next to him. They sat together in silence for some moments, each in there far way world of questions and untidy answers. Finally, Leo spoke.

"Raph, you know he's going to be o.k., right? He'll pull through, he is too strong not to."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed.

"No, you do not. Raph, you never have been one to talk about how you are feeling, but your expression says a thousand words that your mouth cannot." Leo disagreed. Raph felt his cheeks burning, the one time he needed to hide his emotions, and Leo could read him like he was a book. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Leo.

"How…how can you be so sure? What if he dies, and the last few things that we did to him was try to make him change, and make fun of him? What if those were our last few days with him, and that's how we spent it?"

"It won't be." Leo decided, sounding like he was trying to convince himself.

"It won't be, or it can't be?" Raph asked softly. He knew that Leo was trying to deny the truth, that Mikey might not make it, but raising false hopes would hurt more than already suspecting something was coming. The world was just cruel that way.

He sat there patiently, waiting for Leo to say something, for Raph had no words. Then, Leo did something unexpected, tears started rolling down his cheeks, tears that he had been holding in for so long.

"Raph, I can't do this anymore. I know Mikey has a high chance of not surviving, and I need to hope. But there is just so much I can take before I break. I know I have to be strong for you guys, and act like leader and all, but I just _can't." _Leo sobbed.

Wow, this was new. Raph was so used to Leo being the brave one, keeping it together for the team. But now it was a completely different turtle. Leo wasn't the leader, the courageous one he was always trying to be. No, right now, this Leo, he was a helpless, scared, worried teenager, having no clue what to do. It was the Leo that he always tried to hide.

Raph wasn't one who usually comforted others, especially not their fearless leader, but it seemed Leo desperately needed it right now. So, Raph wrapped his arms around Leo, and pulled him to a tight embrace, letting him cry into his shoulder.

Once Leo had calmed down a bit, Raph untangled them from the hug, but grasped Leo's shoulders. "Leo, I'm not saying that Mikey is for sure going to live, but I'm also not saying he is for sure going to die. To be honest, right now I'm only sure of one thing. That you don't have to go through this alone, were going through this bumpy ride together. No matter what happens, for better or for worse, we will always be there for each other. So don't put the burden all on your shoulders, you don't always have to act as a leader. Sometimes, you have to act, who you really are. And let that fake character you're acting for everyone, just let it drop. You don't have to be brave only for us, we all have to be brave for one another."

Leo looked Raph in the eyes, gratefulness seeming to radiate off him.

"Thanks Raph. You have no idea how much I needed that." Leo whispered, so soft that Raph barely caught it.

"No problem bro." Raph responded.

"Your right, we'll make it through these rough times. Just like we always have."

"Just like we always will."

**Yeah, so I hoped you liked it. The beginning was a bit choppy, but I still like writing this. **

***Raph shouts* "Wow! What a way to keep the readers happy, give them a choppy and short chapter. Even after you made them wait two weeks."**

**"Leo and Donnie nod their heads in agreement.***

***I get really angry!* WILL YOU GUYS JUST SHUT UP! YOU BELONG IN MY STORY, AND YOU WILL STAY IN MY STORY! AND IF YOU KEEP PESTERING, JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT I HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE ANYONE OF YOU DROP DEAD THIS SECOND! SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!**

***The 3 brothers look scared beyond their minds.* *Leo speaks nervously.* "We are so sorry. You know what we should do guys? We should go bake her some cookies and then leave her alone."**

***Others nod frantically, plaster on a big, fake smile, and leave the room.***

**"That's what I thought. So anyways, for those who are still reading this author note and actually care, my laptop broke down. Now I need to go over to a friend's house, ot write bits and pieces of it after school in the computer lab. Also, I have a lot of exams, so I stay uo all night studying and all. Updates will come slower, hopefully not this slow, but slower. **

**Don't forget to review! See ya!**


	10. Chapter 10: Are you happy now?

**Wow, more that 100 reviews or my first story! Thanks so much guys, you have no idea how much this means to me! I would list all the people I would like to thank so many people, but that list would be longer than the actual chapter. This took me days to make, but it is finally done! I have to say this was my favorite chapter to write, it's one of the few I actually had planned and stayed that way! About 4, 700 words! That may not seem like a lot to many people, but for me, it seems like a ton! (By the way, this is my second time writing this. My computer reset, and the chapter was almost done! This should have come out like four days ago...)**

**Oh, and I'm going on vacation this week, so there won't be an update. So sorry guys, but I hope this extra long chapter was enough to keep you satisfied and keep thinking about!**

**Mikey's Pov**

_That silence echoed off the pitch black walls as if he was in a cave. As he squinted his eyes, all he saw ahead of him was a never ending hall way. _

_"Hello?" Mikey called out, but quietness was the only thing that responded back to him. "Is anyone there?" Mikey tried again, but once more the silence greeted him back. Deciding there was nothing else he could do, he took the only path he could, forward._

_It was weird walking. He was moving his legs and all, but instead of moving forward, the walls seemed to come to him. And every time that he thought he had made it out of this maze, an opening would pop up, and he would have to continue walking._

_After what seemed as hours, who knew, it might actually have been, a blood red door popped up a few meters ahead of him. Finally! It wasn't his brothers or someone to tell him where he was, but it was something than dark oblivion! That had to count as something, right?_

_Mikey started moving his legs even faster, and the door starting advancing towards him quicker and quicker, and right before the door was going to crash into him, it opened up, showing a scene of him and his brothers the day they first went to the surface. It was like an opening scene in a play, but in fast motion, because then, the images started changing. Starting from there, it showed all the mistakes he made all the dumb questions he asked, his brother's reactions towards him. It was as if he was watching a movie being fast-forwarded, but he was unfortunate enough to see all the parts he desperately wanted to forget._

_Mikey kept watching, unable to take his eyes off of the scene in front of him, when suddenly he wished he turned away when he had the chance, for he saw a sight that he was tried to eliminate from his mind for the past few days._

_There were his brothers, arguing after that horribly gone wrong mission. Next, it showed his brothers talking about how they knew Mikey couldn't make it, and then showing Mikey trying harder, but never feeling good enough. Every terrible event that had happened the past few days showed, and the images started changing more rapidly than before, when suddenly it stopped. Mikey was surrounded from the darkness he thought he had eliminated just a few moments ago. That was, until a silver form started shimmering, until it completely formed, and Mikey gasped at who stood before him. Oruko Saki._

_Hadn't Mikey suffered enough from the hands of this horrible man, or should he say, monster. Hadn't he been traumatized to the maximum already? Or was the world so cruel, that it decided he hadn't gone through enough?_

_"__Why hello, puny turtle." The Shredder sneered._

_Taking a deep breath, Mikey said in a neutral voice. "Why are you here Shredder? I'm really getting tired of you. Leave, now."_

_"__My, isn't someone filled with confidence today. You see, I would be more than happy to oblige to your command, but sadly I cannot." Saki said with pretend pity. "Because, it is not possible for one to leave a place that truly doesn't exist."_

_'__Doesn't truly exist, what does he mean? You can't be in a place that truly doesn't exist. That makes no sense. Oh, if only Donnie was here. He would know what it meant. Mikey was so tempted to ask these questions, but he wasn't about to give Shredder the satisfaction of confusion._

_"__What do you want Shredder? I have no time for your mind games." Mikey said. Wow, it sounded like he were Leo at this moment. That was something new._

_"__What do you mean you don't have time? As I said once, I repeat again, this place doesn't exist. And in a place that isn't real, there is no time. Time doesn't matter now, unlike in the real world." Shredder stated, an amused look in his eyes, searching to see if Mikey was perturbed yet._

_"__You are stalling Shredder. What is the real reason you came here?" Mikey asked, his voice surprisingly calm. Of course, most of the time, the way your voice sounds doesn't mean that is how you feel. Never had that been more true, for in this case, Mikey felt the exact opposite from what he was sounding. But some how and some way, he was able to keep his composure._

_"__Ah. So you are not as dumb as you act. Very well turtle, I am here to give, you a warning."_

_"__What type pf warning?" Mikey asked with caution. He knew that Shredder wouldn't be here to have a tea party, but to warn his enemy, that was not what he expected._

_"__You see Michelangelo, I have something huge planned. Do you remember me new two recruits, Obsidian Black and Morgan Willow? I told you they had hacked into your systems, which you denied to believe. Well, not only have my new brilliant scientist come up with a way to hack into your system, they have found a way to hack into your mind."_

_"__Hack into my mind! But-that's-how…You can't to do that! How's that's possible!"_

_"__Oh yes I can Michelangelo. And it's perfectly possible, but I'll spare you the details. I have something huge planned, something that will make the human race mines!" Shredder roared._

_Building up some courage, something in Mikey clicked. "There is one flaw in your plan Shredder. I already know it, you told me last time I saw you in my…er...nightmares, mind, wherever it was. The point is, once I get out of here, I could warn my family."_

_"__That is where you went wrong turtle. Do you think I was really stupid enough to tell you my whole plan? What I told was a measly piece of the puzzle. Really nothing to what I really got planned." Shredder taunted._

_"__Then what are you up too Shredder? If not hacking into my father's mind and taking control of him isn't your plan, then what is?" Mikey questioned, but he knew there was a high chance he wouldn't get an answer._

_"__I am not here to tell you my master plan Michelangelo. I repeat for the last time, I have come to give you a warning. Your time is almost up, now that I have control of your mind, I can keep you trapped in it. Basically, you will be physically dead, but trapped in the horrors I will create in your mind. So say goodbye to your brothers, for it is the last time you will ever see them. And if you dare tell any of your family, especially the annoying know-it-all Donatello, I will come for them next. Understand?"_

_Mikey just stood there, speechless. So to sum it up, Shredder has a menacing plan that no one but him knows about, he had been deceived of Shredder's plan the whole time, and was being told in his face that he would die soon. Great, just great._

_"__I said, understand?" Oruko Saki growled._

_This was such a difficult choice. Tell his brothers so he might be saved and live happily ever after, just to have Shredder take over their mind, or keep his mouth shut, not tell his brothers he knew his life was going to end, and never get to see his family again. What the shell was he going to do? But then, little by little the answer started to become clearer. His brothers wanted for him to change, which turned out instead of succeeding, he instead hurt them. They said they wanted another brother. Well, he may not be able to make that happen, but he could get rid of one brother for the. Himself. Plus, they would be safe for the time being. Sure, he knew Shredder would take control over their mind sooner or later, he wasn't stupid. But maybe it would give them enough time to realize what was happening. Mikey wasn't sure how they would figure that out, but with him out of the way, they could figure it out._

_Yes, it was all coming to him now. It was time to stop caring for his life, quit being selfish, and look out for his brothers. Grant the wish they tried to hide from him until that awful night._

_Looking Shredder in the eye, he said, "Understood."_

_"__Very well, looks like our time for a chat is done Michelangelo." And Shredder started to dissolve. This time, Mikey wasn't scared or surprised. For an odd reason, he was at peace. Maye it was because this had somewhat happened before, or maybe the feeling as if he finally did something right. Yes, this one wish he would grant for his brothers would make up for all the mistakes he had made._

_A blinding light rushed towards Mikey, and he knew that was going into consciousness. This was it, the last time he would ever wake up. The last time he would be greeted to see his brothers' face. Because he would die tonight, he knew his fate was sealed. Shredder's words rung through his head. "Say goodbye to your brothers, for it will be the last time you see them." Whether he was ready or not, this was the last day with his family. 'Here goes nothing.' Mikey thought, and he woke up._

**Donnie's Pov**

He had finally finished hooking Mikey up onto all the machines, and he was absolutely exhausted. Deciding what harm would it be to take a five second rest, he slumped to the floor, and listened to the machine he had just hooked up on his youngest brother.

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

Ah, the only sound that reassured his that Mikey was alive. Not o.k., but at least alive. He had finished the difficult surgery, and while he was at it, probably scarred his true love's (aka April) eyes forever. The surgery had taken hours, and had left them worn out. So he sent April home, promising that he would call her if anything happened. Leo and Raph were still in the living room, doing who knows what. Leaving Donnie with unconscious brother. Donnie was sorta glad to be alone, he needed to organize his thoughts.

_No, you're not alone. Don't think like that. Mikey is right there in the bed, a few feet in front of you. Don't treat him as if he were...dead…he is right there. Right here! So why do I feel like he's not. _

Then Don finally realized why it was so weird. Mikey was usually up and about, bugging him to get out of the lab and hang out with the family. Or ruining his experiments. He was always was running around, cheerful as one could be, with a light in his eyes that could never be put out. There was always a joyful atmosphere. But now, it was dull and quiet. He had always wished for some silence, but now Don realized he could actually concentrate better with noise. The loudness in the lair was comforting, assuring him that his brothers were alright. But the silence was mocking him, reminding him that everything was wrong. Basically, everything was the exact opposite that it should be.

Donnie's thoughts were interrupted as a soft groan. _Mikey was awake! _He thought frantically, pulling himself to his feet. For a second, but it felt as it was an hour, he debated whether or not he should call the guys. And he would. Just not yet, he needed to talk to Mikey. They were the closest as kids, and there were a few questions he wanted to ask, _alone._

Running towards the bed, he kneeled down to Mikey's level. "Hey Mikey. Glad you woke up when you were suppose too this time."

Mikey cracked a small smile, and slurred, "Me too." Good, his speech was better than when he first woke up. Taking a closer look at Mikey, he saw despite the smile, Mikey had a sad look in his eyes, but Don shook it off. No one would be particularly happy if they went what Mikey had gone through.

"Mikey, do you feel any better?" Don asked, wondering if the surgery and pain meds had helped at all.

"Depends. What's your definition of better? Cause if you mean having a throbbing headache, feeling nauseas, and being sore from head to toe is better, then I feel like a prefect ten!" Mikey joked, mustering up all the enthusiasm he could. Wow, Mikey was really something! Even after a fight to the death, he still found the energy to joke around.

"You know what I mean." Don said, returning a smile.

"Well, I don't feel like I got ran over by a train fifteen times. Only like I have been an over by a massive truck ten times. Which is better than before!"

"So in real language, you still feel horrible, but just a slight bit better." He translated, getting a shaky thumbs up from Mikey.

"Alright, Mikey. I just need to do a quick check up, and I'll call the other guys." Don decided, grabbing a flashlight from his desk.

"Alright Mikey, open your eyes really wide." Don commanded, and Mikey obliged. Shining the flashlight into his baby blue pupils, and saw they didn't react to the light. Knowing that the surgery may take a few days to help the brain recover, he wasn't surprised.

Doing the rest of the basic procedures, such a checking his heart rate and replacing the bandages, he and Mikey just waited there in uncomfortable silence. After a few moments, Mikey finally spoke.

"So, D. You gonna call the other guys, or keep me captive here?"

"Actually Mikey, I need to talk to you first." He said.

"And can't you say it front of Sensei and the other guys?" Mikey asked, obviously nervous. Yep, he was definitely hiding something.

"No I cannot. Now Mikey, I know you don't want to talk about it, but why did you punch Raph? Not that it caused any damage or anything." He quickly added. "I just want to know."

Mikey didn't answer right away, as if he were thinking of some excuse. Finally he said. "Donnie, I'm really tired and not in the mood. Can we talk about this some other time, like tomorrow or something?" And he ended the conversation.

How badly did Donnie want to continue the argument, and he could see that Mikey wasn't going to tell him why anytime soon. So Donnie made a decision.

"Fine, but tomorrow we talk about it, no exceptions. I'm sorry, but we need to know."

To his surprise, Mikey seemed pleased with his answer. Don had expected him to roll his eyes, or huff in response, but Mikey seemed perfectly content. That was odd, but if Mikey wasn't going to fight back, better for him. Not that Mikey could do much in the state he was in anyways.

"Alright, I'm going to call Splinter and our brothers in." Don said, heading out of the room. Before heading out though, he turned his head around and said, "Mikey, you can tell us anything. We won't be mad no matter what happened or what was going through your head."

Don tried searching Mikey's face for any expression that might give him an answer, but his face gave away nothing. Giving a sift sigh, he went to go get the others.

**Leo's Pov**

He could still not get over the fact that Raph had let his tough guy act drop, just to comfort him. When Leo sat on the sofa, he was planning on being there for Raph. But somehow, the situation took a turn, and it ended up being the other way around. Leo had always tried so hard to keep his true emotions in, because he had always told himself that if he were to be leader, he had to be strong for everyone. Not only that, but he was scared that of his brothers saw how he was really feeling, they might think he was weak, or that he was not qualified to handle the role of being leader. But a few hours ago, Leo just didn't have the strength nor energy to keep it in. And even though he was terrified how Raph may react when he saw the true Leo, he just couldn't keep the tears from flowing. But, Raph didn't act the way he thought he would. Instead of being teased and being called a baby, Raph hugged him and comforted them. Raph was there for him when he needed him the most, and he realized that Leo was the luckiest turtle alive to have a brother like him.

All of a sudden, Leo heard a door open, and Don walked out of the infirmary, with confusion and sadness written on his face. Seeing the sullen look, Leo and Raph both jumped to their feet.

"What's wrong Donnie, did-" He started, but was cut off when Donnie brought his hand up, singling silence. "He's fine, well as fine as he could be. But I tried talking to him, trying to find…answers, but he won't tell me anything. He said he will tell me tomorrow, but I just have a bad feeling." Donnie explained. "But he wants to see you." And Donnie led them inside.

Quietly walking into the infirmary, he saw Mikey looking at them with wide and eager eyes, studying them intently.

"Hey buddy. Glad to see you're awake." Leo said.

"Yeah, dreams and darkness get a bit boring after a few hours, so I decided I might as well." Mikey joked.

Seeing that Mikey was fine, he relaxed a bit and sat in the wooden chair next to Mikey's bed. Seeing Raph lingering by the door way, he tried to make eye contact, but Raph refused. Apparently Mikey noticed too, because Mikey called Raph over.

"Raph, you could come a bit closer you know? I mean, I know you think I'm disgusting and covered with germs, but it's not like I'm gonna get you infected or anything."

Leo saw relief flooded through Raph's features, as if he was glad Mikey wasn't mad at him. But why would he be scared that Mikey would be angry at him? Whatever the case, Raph smirked, and walked to stand next to Mikey.

"Don, what time is it?" Mikey asked, with a tiny hint of worry and eagerness hidden in his voice. Getting odd looks by his brothers, he exclaimed as dramatic as he could, "What! So just cause I'm on bed rest, I don't have the right to know when it's dinner?!"

"Leaning towards Donnie, Leo asked. "Was that medicine you gave him suppose too make him feel this better? Not that I'm not glad, but, you know. Is it?"

"I have no idea. But that doesn't matter. As long as he is happy, he'll make a better recovery." Don whispered back.

Turning his attention back to Mikey, Raph answered "11:30. Almost mignight."

"Am or Pm?" Mikey questioned.

"I don't know. The night skies and moon out just doesn't give it way." Raph said sarcastically. "_Almost midnight._ Pm, squirt. What do you think?" He asked playfully.

"Wow, I was out longer than I thought." Mikey stated. Leo thought he heard Mikey mumble something under his breath, something like "I'm running out of time." But he shook it off as his mind playing tricks on him. This wasn't the first time worry got the best of him.

"Well, then, before I go back to my beauty sleep, there is something I need to tell you guys." Mikey said, his face turning from happy, to dreading and serious.

Why did Leo suddenly have a bad feeling?

**Raph's Pov**

"Um…ok. What do you have to tell us?" Raph asked. Why did he have a dreading feeling in his gut now? It just came out of the blue, and Raph couldn't just shake it off.

"I'm sorry." Mikey finally said.

Wow, that was random and out of the blue. How did they go from joking to the time, to apologizing? He was so confused.

"Sorry for not knowing the time?" Raph questioned slowly.

"No. You know what I mean." Mikey replied. But the thing was, Raph didn't. This was just so weird, why was Mikey saying this? Did the medicine cause him to be woozy or something?

"No, Mikey. I really don't." Raph tried again.

"Raph."Leo said, catching his attention. Giving a wave to Raph and Donnie, Leo motioned them forward.

"Raph, I think he is apologizing for punching you earlier." Leo explained. Realization dawned through Raph. He still didn't know why Mikey did that, but honestly, it was just a minor bruise and a bit of shock. Nodding to indicate that he understood, the three brothers headed back towards Mikey.

"You mean about punching me earlier? It's alright, I already forgave you for that." Raph said, not sure how he should direct the problem.

"It's more than that." Mikey said, with now tears quickly budding up in his eyes, but Mikey wiped them quickly, and turned his body left, to face Donnie.

"Donnie. I may never say this again, so I want you to know, I'm sorry. For making you work endless hours to fix my mistakes. Every time I got hurt, you would always take care of me, even when you were low on supplies, and patience. I'm sorry for annoying you to countless ends, every time I said something stupid, you would still attempt to explain it to me, no matter how much I got on your nerves. And I'm sorry for when I ruined your experiments, I know how hard you worked on them. I and so thankful that I had you to talk to when our brothers got into fights, most of the times you heard me out, let me share my side of the story. And I love you. Just promise me that you will spend more time with the family, don't cope yourself up in the lab all the time. Please eat and drink, and sleep when you need to. You are not going to get anything done when all your focus is in attempt to keep awake. And don't be afraid to make mistakes, you'll learn from them, k? Oh, and one more thing. I know you'll have luck with April, don't give up on her. She is an amazing girl, you're a fantastic turtle, you'll make it work.

"Mikey what are you-" Don said worriedly, but Mikey silences him by facing forward, looking at Leo.

"Leo, where do I start, you were not only a phenomenal leader, but a brother too. You always knew what to do in situations, and were able to keep your head. You were there to guide me when I had no clue what to do, always there to give me advice. You kept giving me more chances, even though I messed up a lot. You knew the consequences, but you always let me come along. Most of the time, you were the only one with common sense, you taught me how to draw the line between fun, and just plain dangerous. Whenever I needed to be calmed down or just relax, I knew exactly who to go to. Plus, when I felt like annoying someone out of the heck of it, I knew you were the least one to try to kill me on the spot. But Leo, relax sometimes, it's ok to break the rules and have fun. Sometimes don't act like a leader or ninja, act like a teenager, and enjoy the few years you have left."

"Michelangelo why are you saying-" But once more, he shushed him.

Suddenly the machine started beeping a little quicker.

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

"Hold that thought!" Donnie said quickly, and rushed towards the machine. He tried pressing different buttons, changing the settings that gave Mikey the different medications, but nothing was happening. It was as if someone or something were preventing him from making Mikey healing process.

"No! No! No!" Donnie shouted. Mikey, did you know something would go wrong? What the shell? Why isn't anything working!" Donnie's screams echoed through the lair.

"Donnie." Mikey said softly. "Please, I'm not done. One final request.

"Michelangelo Hamato, you are not saying what I think you are saying! Stop this right now, I have to fix the machine, something is wrong!" Don shouted.

"Don, nothing is wrong with the machine. Please, try to fix it, but give me two more minutes." Mikey begged.

"Mikey!" Donatello began to threaten.

"Please! At least listen to me. If you really care you will listen! I know what is happening, but I have something to say!" Mikey exclaimed, and the room fell silent except for the rapid bating the heart monitor was showing, and Donnie desperately pressing buttons and working on the settings and medicine.

Before Don could protest again, Mikey faced Raph.

"Raph, I don't even know what to say. All these years you have been my protector, chasing all the monsters away. You gave me that extra boost of confidence I always needed, and were there to root me on. Even if you did show it in different ways. I always have looked up to you Raph, you have been my hero for who knows how long. I have always loved you, no matter how many times you have called me names, hit me, tease me. Please try to keep your anger under control, it may lead to consequences you don't want to face. And I'm sorry I couldn't be the brother you always wanted, but I can do the second best thing.

_(Flashback)_

_"__Well maybe sometimes I wish you weren't my brother!_

_So I wouldn't have to put up with you! _

_To get some peace and quiet for just one friggin day!_

_To get some help in a battle other than you just shouting insults! Is that too much to ask? _

_For a brother__ like __that once and a while!"_

_(End flashback)_

Mikey said he was going to do the best second thing. Mikey somehow, some way knows he is going to die, and he is just going to accept it? Why? Sure Mikey could be an idiot sometimes, but this was taking it too far! Why, why? Why, would he think that?

_Because that is what you basically said._ A voice in his head said back.

"Mikey, that's not what-" But of the third time in the past dreadful twenty nine minutes, he silences him.

"Please guys, I'm running out of time. Please know I love you all, and I hope this will repay you guys for every mistake I made, every prank I played. I was stupid, I know that now. I just didn't think I would need such a big wake up call, but now I know. You won't have to deal with me again.

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

"Mikey! No!" Raph shouted. "Stop this right now!"

Donnie was furiously trying to fix Mikey's condition, but nothing was working. He had tears shining his eyes, sweat beading down his head.

"Michelangelo Hamato, stop it this instance!"

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

"Goodbye guys. I hope you're happy. And Raph, congratulations. I hope your wish came true."

_Bbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppppppppppppp._


End file.
